UlJi'J 


,  Glimpses  of  Palestine 
and  Egypt 


REV.  DAVID  S.  WARNER,  A.  M. 

Editor  Light  and  Life  Series  of 
Sunday  School  Periodicals 


^ 


Chicago: 

132  Washington  Boulevard 

W.  B.  ROSE.  Agent 

1914 


f" 


f\ 


Copyright,  1914 

BY 

W.  B.  ROSE 


TO 
THE    MANY    SUNDAY-SCHOOLS 

THAT    MADE    THE    TOUE    DESCRIBED    HEREIN 

POSSIBLE    THIS   BOOK   IS    GEATEFUIXY 

DEDICATED 


FOREWORD 

The  following  sketch  has  been  written  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  have  not  seen  the  Holy  Land. 
Many  who  had  read  the  sketches  that  were  pre- 
pared for  periodicals  have  made  the  request  that 
the  account  of  this  journey  be  put  in  permanent 
form.  In  answer  to  that  request  and  for  the  per- 
sonal pleasure  of  the  author  this  book  has  been 
written. 

The  attempt  has  been  made  to  describe  simply 
and  naturally  the  things  that  were  seen  during 
this  tour.  Many  books  have  been  written  descrip- 
tive of  Palestine,  and  it  might  seem  as  if  there 
were  no  call  for  another;  but  the  subject  is  so 
great  and  of  such  absorbing  interest  that  there  is 
still  room  for  others. 

There  were  twenty-six  of  us  in  the  company 
who  made  a  tour  including  portions  of  northern 
Africa,  Palestine  and  Europe.  There  were  five 
from  California,  Rev.  Monroe  Drew,  J.  W.  George 
and  wife,  and  H.  S.  Miller  and  wife;  five  from 
Pennsylvania,  H.  H.  Suavely  and  wife,  Kate  F. 

7 


FOREWOKD 

Mellinger,  Anna  Ranck  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Kistler; 
four  from  Illinois,  Jerome  Lawson  and  wife,  J.  C. 
Peck  and  the  writer;  three  from  Kansas,  J.  E. 
Baker,  Rev.  G.  E.  Lyon  and  Rev.  C.  E.  Rash ;  three 
from  Minnesota,  G.  W.  Andrick  and  wife  and  Dr. 
Robert  Ramsay;  Professor  J.  S.  Luckey,  from 
New  York ;  Mary  Pemberton,  from  Virginia ;  Rev. 
Percy  Pemberton,  from  New  Jersey;  Rev.  S.  M. 
Yancey,  from  Arkansas ;  Rev.  A.  A.  McLean,  from 
North  Carolina;  and  Rev.  H.  B.  Cooper,  from 
Ohio.  My  close  traveling  companion  was  Profes- 
sor J.  S.  Luckey,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  much 
of  the  profitableness  and  pleasure  of  the  trip. 

This  unpretentious  volume  is  sent  forth  with 
the  hope  that  many  will  become  more  interested  in 
the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  that  its  history  and 
teachings  will  become  clearer  and  more  impressive 
by  the  light  which  this  book  may  throw  upon  them. 

David  S.  Warner. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

I. — On  the  Atlantic 15 

II. — From  Gibraltar  to  Greece....  21 

III. — Glimpses  of  Greece 30 

IV. — From  Athens  to  Jaffa 37 

V. — Physical  Features  of  Palestine  46 

VI. — From  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem 52 

VII. — A  View  of  Jerusalem 59 

VIII. — The  Temple  Site 63 

IX. — The  Tomb  of  Christ 70 

X. — The  Jews'  Wailing  Place 76 

XI. — A  Donkey  Kide 82 

XII. — The  Mount  of  Olives 87 

XIII. — A  Visit  to  Bethlehem 92 

XIV. — Over  the  Jericho  Eoad 98 

XV. — In  the  Jordan  Valley 104 

XVI. — Bethany    109 

XVII. — Some  Jerusalem   Pools 113 

XVIII. — Some  Jerusalem  Traditions...  118 

XIX. — Shopping  in  Jerusalem 124 

XX. — Christianizing  Jerusalem  130 

XXI. — From  Jerusalem  to  Shechem  . .  136 
9 


CONTENTS 

XXII. — From  Shechem  to  Nazareth..  146 

XXIII. — Glimpses  op  Nazareth 156 

XXIV. — From  Nazareth  to  Tiberias  . . .  162 

XXV. — At  the  Sea  of  Galilee 167 

XXVI. — From  Galilee  to  Carmel 178 

XXVII. — Haifa  and  Mount  Carmel 183 

XXVIII.— From  Canaan  to  Egypt 190 

XXIX. — The  Land  of  the  Nile 196 

XXX.— A  Moslem  Stronghold 202 

XXXI.— The  Child  in  Egypt 209 

XXXII. — A  Trip  to  the  Pyramids 214 

XXXIII. — Lasting  Impressions   220 


10 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  Jordan  Kiver Frontispiece 

Facing  Page 

Mars  Hill^  Athens 34 

An  Athens  Street  Sprinkler 34 

On  the  Koof  of  Simon's  House 42 

Street  Scene  in  Jaffa 44 

Plowing  in  Palestine 54 

Hauling  Grain  from  the  Field 54 

East  Part  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Mount 

of  Olives 62 

North  Part  of  Jerusalem '62 

Entrance   to  the   Church   of   the   Holy 

Sepulcher 70 

Garden  Tomb,  Gordon's  Calvary 70 

Jews'  Wailing  Place 78 

A  Party  Making  Tour  About  the  Walls  .  .  78 

Gethsemane^   Eoman -88 

Traditional   Place  Where  the   Disciples 

Watched 88 

Kachel's  Tomb 94 

Church  of  the  Nativity 94 

Samaritan    Inn 102 

11 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Jericho   102 

Tomb  of  Lazarus 112 

Solomon's    Pools 112 

Jacob's  Well 140 

Samaritan  High  Priest  and  Scroll 144 

Ruins  of  Gates,  Hill  of  Samaria 148 

Ruins  of  Temple,  Hill  of  Samaria 148 

Colonnades,  Hill  of  Samaria 154 

Women  Carrying  Fuel 154 

Mary's  Well,  Nazareth 158 

Street  Leading  from  Mary's  Well 158 

Nazareth  from  Hill  on  the  North 160 

Tiberias  and  the  Sea  of  Galilee 160 

Sea  of  Galilee 178 

A  Bedouin's  Tent 178 

Mount  Carmel  from  the  Sea 186 

Mount  Carmel  from  the  South 186 

Unloading  Cattle  from  Steamer 192 

Plowing  in  Egypt 192 

Egyptian  Mode  of  Drawing  Water 198 

Cairo  from   Citadel 202 

Cairo  Water  Carrier 202 

Obelisk  at  Heliopolis 212 

The  Nile 214 

Tourist  on  Camel 214 

Pyramid    218 

12 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE 
AND  EGYPT 


ON  THE  ATLANTIC 

At  last  the  desire  I  had  cherished  for  many 
years  was  about  to  be  fulfilled.  I  was  actually 
on  board  an  ocean  steamer  and  on  my  way  to 
Palestine.  On  May  14,  1913,  I  went  on  board  the 
steamship  Kaiser  Franz  Josef  I,  which  sailed  at 
four  in  the  afternoon  from  New  York,  bound  for 
Trieste,  Austria,  stopping  at  Algiers,  Naples, 
Patras  and  Venice.  It  is  the  largest  boat  of  the 
Austro- American  line,  being  five  hundred  feet 
long,  sixty-two  feet  wide  and  eighty-three  feet 
high.  Its  displacement  is  16,500  tons  and  will 
carry  a  load  of  12,500  tons.  It  was  only  a  year 
and  a  half  old  and  was  well  finished  and  equipped. 
It  was  kept  scrupulously  clean,  and  the  service 
was  excellent. 

The  boat  was  manned  by  Austrians,  and  as 
I  stepped  on  board  and  was  conducted  to  my 
stateroom,  I  realized  some  difficulty  in  making 
myself  understood.    I  seemed  to  be  the  foreigner, 

15 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

but,  as  the  attendants  for  the  most  part  under- 
stood German  and  a  little  English,  I  was  able  to 
get  along.  The  stewards,  as  the  waiters  and  at- 
tendants are  called,  were  mostly  young  men  and 
boys.  There  was  one  boy  that  appeared  to  be  not 
more  than  ten  years  of  age,  who  was  acting  as  a 
steward;  but  was  mainly  employed  in  waiting 
upon  the  chief  steward.  He  was  dressed  in  the 
regulation  steward's  uniform,  wearing  long 
trousers,  and  looked  odd  enough. 

There  were  about  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
persons  on  board.  The  crew  consisted  of  four 
hundred  thirteen  persons.  There  were  over  a  hun- 
dred first-class  passengers,  three  hundred  second- 
class,  and  about  a  thousand  steerage  passengers. 
The  cost  of  passage,  including  board  and  berth, 
was  from  twenty-nine  dollars  for  steerage  to 
ninety  dollars  or  more  for  first  class. 

Two  tugs  towed  our  steamer  away  from  the 
dock,  and  as  we  left,  friends  bade  their  departing 
loved  ones  good-by  over  and  over  again,  until  we 
had  gone  too  far  to  distinguish  faces  or  voices. 
We  passed  out  into  the  great  Atlantic.  It  was 
only  a  little  while  until  we  were  out  of  sight  of 
land,  and  we  began  to  realize  that  our  home  land 
was  left  behind  and  we  were  on  the  high  seas. 

16 


ON    THE    ATLANTIC 

There  were  several  decks  with  stairs  leading 
from  one  to  another,  as  in  a  house.  There  were 
two  promenade  decks  around  the  edge  of  the 
steamer,  protected  by  a  railing  about  four  feet 
high.  The  staterooms,  or  sleeping-rooms,  were 
of  different  sizes  and  accommodated  from  one 
to  four  persons  each.  In  the  steerage  there  was 
a  great  sleeping-room  for  the  men  and  one  for  the 
women. 

Hundreds  of  tons  of  water  were  taken  on 
board  in  New  York,  to  furnish  the  passengers  and 
crew  with  water  to  drink  and  to  wash  in.  Sea 
water  was  used  for  the  bath-tubs.  More  than  two 
hundred  tons  of  coal  were  burned  each  day.  The 
ship  was  lighted  by  electricity.  There  was  a  heat- 
ing and  ventilating  system  by  which  hot  or  cold 
air,  according  to  the  outside  temperature,  was 
forced  into  each  room.  We  had  breakfast  at  eight 
o'clock,  lunch  at  half  past  twelve  and  dinner  at 
eight.  As  we  traveled  eastward  about  four  hun- 
dred miles  a  day,  our  time  was  set  ahead  thirty- 
five  minutes  each  day  to  keep  up  with  sun  time. 
The  sea  was  not  very  rough  on  the  Atlantic 
with  the  exception  of  one  day.  On  Saturday,  May 
17,  it  was  high  and  the  boat  rolled  considerably. 
It  was  a  grand  sight  to  see  the  great  waves  roll 

17 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

and  break.  I  was  much  impressed  with  the  scene, 
which  was  wholly  new  to  me.  It  was  interestino 
to  walk  when  the  boat  was  rocking  and  lurching. 
The  deck  seemed  to  come  up  to  meet  the  foot  or 
to  dodge  downward  or  sidewise  to  elude  the  step. 
Even  with  a  light  sea  several  passengers  were  sea- 
sick, and  when  Saturday  came,  the  dining-room 
was  not  very  generously  patronized.  I  was  fa- 
vored with  freedom  from  sickness  and  was  able  to 
enjoy  the  entire  voyage. 

To  me  the  view  of  the  ocean  from  the  steamer 
was  most  attractive.  If  it  had  not  been  necessary 
for  me  to  read  or  write,  I  should  have  spent  more 
time  on  deck  watching  the  waves.  When  it  is 
cloudy,  the  water  is  a  very  dark  blue,  and  when 
the  sun  shines  upon  the  water,  it  varies  from  an 
ashen  gray  to  a  beautiful  blue, — almost  an  azure 
blue, — according  to  the  angle  from  which  one 
views  it.  We  saw  little  life  outside  the  ship. 
But  one  steamer  was  seen  and  one  sail-boat  until 
we  neared  the  coast  of  Spain.  A  few  flying-fish 
were  seen  and  several  sea-gulls  and  stormy  petrels. 

One  night  some  of  us  had  a  rather  amusing 

experience.    Along  between  one  and  two  o'clock 

I  was  awakened  by  spatters  of  water,  and  soon 

streams  of  it  were  pouring  upon  my  bed.     We 

18 


ON    THE    ATLANTIC 

called  a  steward  as  quickly  as  possible,  but  it 
was  several  minutes  before  one  appeared,  and 
several  more  before  the  flow  was  stopped.  A 
faucet  had  been  left  open  on  the  deck  above,  and 
the  tub  overflowed  and  the  water  found  an  open- 
ing into  our  room.  The  berth  below  mine  was 
affected,  but  not  so  seriously  as  mine.  The  only 
harm  done  was  in  the  loss  of  sleep.  We  were 
soon  fixed  up  with  dry  beds. 

I  must  describe  one  Sunday  on  board  ship.  We 
had  Sunday-school,  or  at  least  a  study  of  the  les- 
son for  the  day.  I  was  appointed  to  lead.  This 
exercise  was  followed  by  a  preaching  service.  In 
the  afternoon  our  tour  party  held  a  deck  meeting 
among  the  steerage  passengers.  Although  they 
were  foreigners,  many  of  them  understood  Eng- 
lish and  nearly  all  were  very  respectful  and  atten- 
tive.   There  was  preaching  again  in  the  evening. 

On  Monday  we  came  in  sight  of  one  of  the 
Azores  group  of  islands.  It  was  a  welcome  sight 
to  us  who  had  not  seen  land  for  five  days.  Late 
in  the  evening  we  saw  another  island  by  moon- 
light. The  reflection  of  the  moonlight  upon  the 
ocean  waves  and  the  island  made  the  scene  an  in- 
spiring one.  The  Azores  stretch  a  distance  of 
three  hundred  miles  from  east  to  west.    The  one 

19 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

nearest  the  European  coast  is  eight  hundred  miles 
away.  There  are  nine  islands  in  the  group,  in- 
habited by  250,000  people.  These  islands  have  a 
semi-tropical  climate  and  produce  much  fruit. 
They  belong  to  Portugal. 


20 


II 

FKOM  GIBRALTAR  TO  GREECE 

The  sight  of  Gibraltar  was  eagerly  greeted  by 
the  passengers  on  the  steamer.  Most  of  us  had 
never  seen  this  great  rock.  The  wind  was  blow- 
ing a  gale  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  not  going 
to  be  able  to  enjoy  the  long-anticipated  view,  but 
the  wind  went  down  and  the  sea  became  quiet  as 
we  entered  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.  The  distance 
between  Europe  and  Africa  is  only  about  ten 
miles  at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  strait. 

The  course  of  the  steamer  was  close  to  Gibral- 
tar, perhaps  a  mile  from  the  southern  point.  With 
our  field-glasses  we  could  see  the  different  parts 
of  the  great  natural  fortification.  I  took  some 
pictures  just  before  we  came  opposite  it.  I  was 
not  the  only  one,  for  there  was  a  fine  array  of 
cameras  pointed  toward  Gibraltar  as  we  passed 
by.  The  sun  was  shining  on  the  west  side  of  the 
rock  and  this  gave  us  a  good  opportunity  to  take 
the  pictures. 

21 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

Gibraltar  has  long  been  an  English  fortifica- 
tion, although  it  is  naturally  a  part  of  Spain.  At 
a  distance  it  looks  like  an  island,  but  as  one  comes 
near,  the  low  plain  connecting  it  with  the  main- 
land is  seen.  The  rock  is  one  thousand  feet  high 
and  about  two  miles  long.  It  is  honeycombed 
with  chambers  in  which  are  placed  the  most  pow- 
erful guns  of  modern  times.  A  garrison  of  six 
thousand  men  is  stationed  here,  and  the  popula- 
tion of  the  town  is  fifteen  thousand.  A  single 
cannon  is  to  be  seen  by  those  who  pass  by  and  it 
is  mounted  on  the  very  top  of  the  fortress  in  full 
view.  The  others  are  concealed  within  the  mas- 
sive rock. 

The  rock  stands  for  solidity.  We  sometimes 
hear  the  expression,  "As  firm  as  Gibraltar."  It 
would  seem  impossible  for  any  enemy  to  capture 
this  stronghold,  even  with  the  modern  machinery 
of  war.  The  English  are  not  wholly  agreed  as  to 
the  advisability  of  retaining  Gibraltar.  There  are 
many  who  for  two  reasons  would  give  it  over  to 
Spain.  They  consider  it  as  a  natural  possession 
of  that  country.  As  a  second  reason,  they  think 
it  is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  justify  the 
expenditure  of  the  large  sum  necessary  to  main- 
tain it  as  a  stronghold. 

22 


FROM    GIBRALTAR    TO    GREECE 

We  watched  the  great  fortress  until  we  had 
sailed  so  far  that  we  could  get  no  further  satis- 
faction in  trying  to  see  it.  It  was  hard  for  us  to 
realize  that  we  had  passed  out  of  the  Atlantic 
into  the  great  Mediterranean  of  which  we  had 
read  much  in  geography  and  history,  and  with 
which  much  of  Bible  history  is  connected.  At  the 
opposite  end  from  Gibraltar  lies  the  land  toward 
which  we  were  going. 

It  was  Thursday  afternoon  when  we  passed 
Gibraltar  and  on  Friday  afternoon  we  drew  into 
the  Bay  of  Algiers.  Our  party  of  twenty-six  went 
at  once  to  the  Algiers  Mission  Band  home,  where 
the  representatives  of  the  different  missions  were 
gathered  to  greet  us.  Pictures  and  charts  were 
hung  about  the  walls  to  show  what  the  missions 
were  doing  and  what  the  needs  were. 

Miss  Trotter,  the  superintendent  of  the  mis- 
sion, told  us  that  there  were  650,000  boys  between 
the  ages  of  five  and  twelve  years  in  Algeria  alone 
who  were  without  any  Christian  instruction. 
From  this  mission  we  went  to  a  mission  kinder- 
garten, where  a  few  Arab  boys  were  painting 
scripture  texts  under  the  instruction  of  a  native 
Christian.  They  were  allowed  to  paint  the  texts 
and  then  were  required  to  commit  tbem  to  mem- 
28 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

ory.  In  this  way  they  were  receiving  a  little 
knowledge  of  God's  word.  We  saw  a  few  native 
Christians  who  were  willing  to  be  greatly  perse- 
cuted for  renouncing  Mohammedanism.  At  this 
mission  we  saw  a  negro  Christian  from  Timbuctu. 
A  noticeable  thing  about  him  was  his  height.  He 
was  six  feet  ten  inches  tall.  He  had  been  in 
America.  I  think  he  was  the  biggest  Christian 
I  ever  saw. 

We  called  at  the  French  Wesleyan  mission 
where  many  schoolboys  were  singing  Christian 
songs.  They  sang  heartily  and  beautifully.  It 
can  not  be  told  how  much  good  earnest,  devoted 
missionaries  are  doing  in  bringing  the  light  of  the 
gospel  to  this  darkened  people. 

We  saw  a  native  woman  preparing  food  in 
the  native  way  at  one  of  the  missions.  She  had 
a  large  cloth  spread  upon  the  floor,  and  on  this 
she  had  the  materials  of  which  she  was  making 
the  native  foods. 

A  throng  of  boys  and  girls  surrounded  us  at 
times  begging  for  a  little  money.  A  baby  two  or 
three  years  old  ran  out  in  the  street  by  our  car- 
riage as  we  passed  and  begged  for  a  penny.  A 
little  girl  ran  after  us  for  a  mile  or  more,  until 
some  one  in  the  party  gave  her  a  small  coin.    A 

24 


FKOM    GIBRALTAR    TO    GREECE 

blind  boy,  led  by  his  sister,  ran  recklessly  after  our 
company  begging  for  money.  We  made  our  way 
through  the  steep  and  narrow  streets  of  the  Arab 
quarter.  Articles  of  food,  fruits,  vegetables, 
bread,  cakes  and  meats,  were  exposed  for  sale 
along  the  sides  of  these  filthy  streets.  Meat  was 
piled  on  papers  spread  upon  the  pavement.  I 
was  thankful  for  the  gospel  and  what  it  has 
brought  to  the  world.  What  we  saw  in  Algiers 
is  only  a  faint  picture  of  what  exists  in  other 
parts  of  the  Mohammedan  world. 

Distances  are  not  small  on  the  Mediterranean. 
After  our  steamer,  the  Kaiser  Franz  Josef  I,  had 
taken  on  coal  at  Algiers,  we  were  off  on  a  six- 
hundred-mile  run  to  Naples,  Italy.  The  sea  was 
sometimes  rough,  and  on  this  trip  a  few  of  the 
passengers  were  seasick. 

The  steamer  is  almost  a  little  world  in  itself. 
Even  if  there  is  no  land  in  sight,  there  is  much  to 
interest  the  passenger  who  is  making  his  first 
ocean  voyage.  The  bow  of  the  steamer  is  given 
over  to  the  steerage  passengers.  During  the  day 
this  deck  presents  an  almost  endless  variety  of 
scenes.  Groups  of  men,  women  and  children  are 
to  be  seen,  walking,  sitting  and  lounging  about. 
Many  of  them  had  their  food  brought  from  below 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

and  ate  on  the  deck,  rather  than  in  the  dining- 
room. 

Many  nationalities  were  represented  in  this 
class  of  passengers.  One  day  they  had  a  pastime 
in  which  several  men  and  boys  tried  to  climb  a 
greased  rope  stretched  firmly  in  an  upright  posi 
tion.  One  or  two  succeeded  in  climbing  high 
enough  to  get  some  of  the  provisions  that  were 
suspended  high  above  them.  The  climbers  had 
rags  and  sand  in  their  pockets,  which  they  used 
on  the  rope  to  keep  them  from  slipping. 

There  was  sorrow  on  our  steamer  among  the 
different  classes  of  passengers.  There  were  two 
deaths  among  the  steerage.  Two  persons,  a  lady 
and  a  baby,  who  were  sick  with  tuberculosis,  died 
and  were  buried  at  sea.  An  aged  Greek  among  the 
second-class  passengers,  who  had  been  sent  by  his 
friends  on  the  voyage  for  his  health,  jumped  over- 
board near  Naples  and  was  drowned.  There  was 
great  excitement  among  the  passengers  when  the 
cry  was  heard,  ''A  man  overboard  I"  A  life-buoy 
was  thrown  out  and  a  life-boat  was  made  ready. 
The  steamer  circled  about  the  place  for  an  hour, 
but  no  trace  of  the  body  could  be  seen,  and  we 
proceeded  on  our  way.  It  was  learned  that  he 
was  broken  down  nervously  and  mentally  unbal- 
26 


FKOM    GIBRALTAR    TO    GREECE 

anced.  A  lady  among  the  first-class  passengers 
was  taken  ill  and  died,  and  was  buried  at  sea.  Out 
of  the  eighteen  hundred  persons  on  board  the 
steamer  four  died  during  the  twelve  days  between 
New  York  and  Patras. 

Between  Algiers  and  Naples  we  passed  in  sight 
of  the  island  of  Sardinia.  As  usual  the  passen- 
gers were  eager  to  catch  sight  of  land.  When 
tourists  are  traveling  on  land,  they  are  eager  to 
see  water;  and  when  traveling  on  the  sea,  they 
are  eager  to  sight  land. 

The  afternoon  before  the  steamer  reached 
Naples  was  a  busy  one  on  the  forward  deck,  for 
there  were  about  five  hundred  passengers  to  leave 
the  boat  at  that  place.  The  hoisting  machines 
were  kept  working  at  lifting  baggage  and  freight 
from  the  hold,  or  lower  part  of  the  ship,  ready  to 
be  put  off  upon  reaching  the  city. 

Before  arriving  at  Naples,  I  looked  with  much 
interest  at  the  place  on  the  Italian  shore,  Puteoli, 
where  Paul  disembarked  on  his  way  to  Rome,  as 
a  prisoner,  and  proceeded  toward  the  city  on  foot. 
The  very  thought,  that  I  passed  that  morning  over 
the  place  where  Paul  had  been,  caused  me  to  feel 
that  in  a  sense  the  spot  was  sacred. 
The  steamer  here  took  on  coal.    Barges  loaded 

27 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

with  coal  were  made  fast  alongside  the  ship,  and 
men  carried  the  coal  on  their  backs  in  flexible, 
woven  baskets.  They  were  so  numerous  and  so 
active  that  they  reminded  one  of  a  swarm  of  bees 
about  the  hive  on  a  summer's  day. 

In  passing  in  and  out  of  the  Bay  of  Naples 
we  were  in  plain  sight  of  Vesuvius,  about  which 
we  had  read  and  heard  much.  It  appeared  entire- 
ly at  rest  and  gave  little  intimation  that  it  was 
ever  an  active  volcano  and  had  been  the  cause  of 
untold  loss  of  life  and  property. 

About  midnight  of  this  day  our  ship  passed 
within  sight  of  the  volcano  Stroraboli  on  the 
island  of  that  name,  and  I  arose  to  see  it.  Smoke 
was  seen  issuing  from  it  and  occasionally  flames 
shot  up  from  it.  The  moon  arose  and  the  com- 
bined scene  of  land  and  water  was  truly  beauti- 
ful. I  retired  to  arise  again  in  a  few  hours  to  see 
the  Strait  of  Messina,  where  the  steamer  was  to 
pass  between  the  dreaded  Scylla  and  Charybdis 
of  the  ancients,  one  on  the  shore  of  Italy  and  the 
other  on  the  island  of  Sicily.  Through  this  strait 
the  water  rushes  at  times  and  forms  an  eddy,  or 
whirlpool,  which  is  dangerous  to  navigation  for 
small  boats.  The  streets  of  Messina  and  other 
cities  lining  the  shores  on  either  side  of  the  strait 
28 


FEOM    GIBRALTAE    TO    GREECE 

were  beautifully  illuminated,  and  the  moonlight 
upon  the  waters  and  upon  the  mountains  made  the 
sight  altogether  worth  the  effort  necessary  to  see 
it.    Mount  Etna  was  visible  in  the  distance. 

The  steamer's  course  lay  around  the  toe  of 
Italy  across  the  Adriatic  Sea.  As  we  approached 
the  shore  of  Greece  we  came  in  sight  of  the  islands 
of  Cephalonia  and  Zante.  On  May  26,  at  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  I  first  touched  European  soil. 
It  was  at  Patras,  Greece,  on  the  Gulf  of  Patras. 
I  was  in  the  land  where  modern  Greek,  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  language  that  I  had  labored  hard 
to  learn  to  read,  was  spoken  apparently  without 
an  effort. 


29 


Ill 

GLIMPSES  OF  GREECE 

After  a  night's  rest  at  Patras  we  took  the  train 
for  Corinth  and  Athens.  To  an  American  the  two 
little  locomotives  that  drew  our  train,  and  the 
small  railway  carriages,  divided  into  compart- 
ments with  doors  opening  on  the  sides,  were  ob- 
jects of  curiosity.  The  route  lay  along  the  Gulf 
of  Patras  and  the  Gulf  of  Corinth.  On  either  side 
mountains  arose,  and  I  saw  very  clearly  that  what 
I  had  read  about  the  mountainous  surface  of 
Greece  was  true. 

I  could  see  snow-crowned  Parnassus  in  the  dis- 
tance and  close  by  us  were  lemon,  fig,  olive  and 
mulberry  trees  with  fruit  upon  them.  Goats  were 
seen  almost  everywhere  and  I  saw  many  donkeys 
used  as  pack  animals.  Work  is  still  being  done 
in  primitive  style.  Grain  is  cut  by  men  and  wo- 
men with  sickles,  bound  into  bundles  and  laid  on 
the  ground,  and  then  carried  on  the  backs  of 
donkeys  and  horses  to  outdoor  thrashing-floors, 

30 


GLIMPSES    OF    GREECE 

where  it  is  trodden  by  donkeys  and  winnowed  by 
being  tossed  into  the  air  for  the  wind  to  carry  the 
chaff  away.  Every  available  spot  in  the  valleys 
and  upon  the  mountainsides  is  carefully  tilled. 
Much  attention  is  given  to  irrigation. 

Shortly  after  noon  our  train  passed  by  the  old 
Corinth,  where  Paul  preached  for  a  year  and  a 
half.  Nothing  is  left  of  the  old  city  and  the  place 
is  marked  only  by  a  few  huts  of  recent  years.  I 
had  a  view  of  the  Acropolis  of  Corinth.  The 
train  stopped  at  the  new  Corinth,  a  mile  east, 
that  the  passengers  might  have  lunch. 

Every  mile  of  the  journe}'  across  Greece  was 
full  of  interest  to  me.  Occasionally  a  woman 
could  be  seen  sitting  at  her  door  or  walking  along 
the  road  spinning  with  her  distaff.  It  was  amus- 
ing to  me  to  see  donkeys  loaded  with  small  bar- 
rels. Pack-saddles  are  used,  upon  which  are 
fastened  the  articles  to  be  carried,  and  these  must 
be  evenly  balanced  on  the  two  sides.  It  is  aston- 
ishing to  see  the  loads  which  these  little  donkeys 
can  carry. 

The  people  through  the  country  appear  frank, 

sturdy,   industrious   and   friendly.     The  rugged, 

ragged  nature  of  the  country  seems  to  have  placed 

a  stamp  upon  the  inhabitants.    Men  wearing  the 

31 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

national  costume  of  Greece  were  occasionally 
seen.  This  costume  consists  of  tight  breeches  and 
white  kilts  coming  a  little  below  the  hips.  When 
in  Corinth  I  had  a  good  view  of  the  canal  that  con- 
nects the  Gulf  of  Corinth  with  the  Ionian  Sea. 
At  the  place  where  the  railway  crosses  the  canal, 
the  level  of  the  latter  is  about  one  hundred  feet 
below  the  railway. 

I  knew,  and  yet  it  was  hard  to  realize,  that  I 
was  in  the  land  made  famous  for  its  great  men — 
its  poets,  philosophers,  orators,  historians,  war- 
riors, painters  and  sculptors.  The  land  seemed  to 
me  too  mountainous  and,  in  places,  too  barren  to 
sustain  a  large  population,  and  yet  it  has  been 
the  home  of  a  great,  liberty-loving  people,  and  the 
home  of  a  great  civilization.  It  is  still  the  home 
of  a  patriotic  race.  On  the  railway  trip  across 
Greece  the  train  stopped  at  every  village,  and  they 
were  many,  and  I  saw  soldiers  all  along  the  route. 
The  fighting  in  connection  with  the  recent  war 
with  Turkey  was  not  entirely  over.  I  took  oc- 
casion to  speak  to  many  soldiers  and  found  a 
large  number  who  had  been  in  America  and  could 
speak  English.  A  soldier  in  Athens  told  me  that 
sixty-five  thousand  Greeks  had  returned  to  their 
country  from  America  to  take  their  stand  in  de- 
32 


GLIMPSES    OF    GEEECE 

fense  of  Greece  in  the  war.  I  found  that  they  in- 
tended to  return  to  America  when  the  war  was 
over. 

Soon  after  the  train  drew  out  of  Corinth 
toward  Athens,  we  came  in  sight  of  the  Ionian 
Sea  and  passed  not  far  from  the  Gulf  of  Salamis. 
where  the  great  battle  was  fought  between  the 
Greeks  and  Persians  in  the  year  490  B.  C.  Soon 
Athens  was  in  sight  and  the  Acropolis  was  plain- 
ly seen.  The  ride  from  Patras  to  Athens  was  one 
of  the  most  interesting  of  my  life,  but  I  was  thor- 
oughly tired  at  night.  A  good  night's  rest,  how- 
ever, fitted  me  for  the  pleasure  of  a  full  day  of 
sight-seeing  in  one  of  the  world's  most  historic 
cities. 

Here  is  a  mingling  of  the  most  ancient  civili- 
zation and  the  modern.  A  group  of  us  visited  the 
National  Museum,  where  are  preserved  many  an- 
cient pieces  of  statuary  and  other  remains  of  an- 
cient art.  We  visited  the  University  of  Athens 
and  later  in  the  day  visited  the  ruins  of  the  Gre- 
cian and  the  Eoman  market-places,  the  temple  of 
Theseus,  the  gate  of  Hadrian  and  the  temple  of 
Jupiter. 

Not  far  from  the  Acropolis  and  a  little  north- 
west of  it  is  the  Areopagus,  or  Mars  Hill.    As  T 

33 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

ascended  the  steps  leading  to  the  summit  of  this 
rocky  hill,  I  was  deeply  moved  by  the  thought  that 
here  more  than  eighteen  centuries  ago  Paul 
preached  to  the  people  of  Athens.  One  of  our 
company  read  to  us  Paul's  address  as  recorded  in 
Acts  18.  I  looked  around  upon  the  hill,  which  is 
now  bare,  to  try  to  find  the  exact  spot  where  Paul 
stood,  but  that  was  impossible.  I  looked  over  the 
city,  as  it  is  likely  Paul  did  when  he  was  there.  T 
took  several  pictures  of  Mars  Hill,  for  it  was  to 
me  the  place  of  greatest  interest  in  Athens,  al- 
though I  was  much  interested  in  other  historic 
places.  A  little  group  of  us  returned  to  this  hill 
the  next  morning  and  looked  about  again  and  had 
prayer  there. 

The  Acropolis  stands  a  hundred  fifty  feet 
above  the  level  of  Athens  and  five  hundred  feet 
above  sea  level.  Around  it  are  massive  and  inter- 
esting ruins.  It  is  a  natural  stronghold,  as  its 
sides  are  all  steep.  The  top  contains  about  ten 
acres.  This  space  is  covered  with  the  ruins  of 
ancient  magnificence,  some  of  them  dating  back 
to  the  Pelasgi,  1400  B.  C.  The  principal  ruins  are 
those  of  the  Parthenon,  the  temple  of  Wingless 
Victory  and  the  Erechtheum.  The  Greeks  thought 
that  by  erecting  a  temple  for  the  worship  of  the 

34 


MARS    mix,    ATHENS 


AN    ATHENS     STREET    SPRINKLER 


GLIMPSES    OF    GEEECE 

goddess  of  Victory  and  representing  her  as  with- 
out wings,  she  could  not  fly  away  and  would  re- 
main with  them. 

The  I'arthenon  was  the  most  important  struc- 
ture on  the  Acropolis.  It  was  surrounded  by 
forty-six  columns  about  thirty  feet  high  and  six 
feet  in  diameter.  These  buildings  were  erected 
for  the  worship  of  pagan  gods.  Untold  wealth 
and  labor  were  expended  in  these  structures.  It 
is  not  at  all  unnatural  that  Paul  should  preach 
to  the  men  of  Athens  about  their  idolatry. 

In  the  Athens  of  to-day  is  a  population  of  two 
hundred  ten  thousand  and  many  splendid  build- 
ings. Some  of  the  customs  and  methods  are  prim- 
itive. Flocks  of  goats  are  still  brought  in  through 
the  streets  in  the  evening  and  led  out  in  the  morn- 
ing for  pasture.  One  morning  I  saw  a  milk  pedler 
who  carried  the  milk  in  cans  on  a  donkey's  back 
and  he,  too,  was  riding  the  donkey.  I  saw  the 
street  sprinklers  in  operation.  A  tank  was  car- 
ried on  a  two-wheeled  cart,  which  was  drawn  by 
a  donkey  led  or  driven  by  a  boy.  To  an  American 
this  system  of  sprinkling  streets  seems  almost  lu- 
dicrous, but  not  so  much  so  as  a  system  I  saw 
later  in  another  place,  where  a  man  sprinkled  the 
street  from  a  goatskin  filled  with  water  and  car- 

35 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

ried  on  his  back.  The  boy  who  was  managing  the 
sprinkling  outfit  had  a  bundle  of  oats  on  his  cart. 
Instead  of  stopping  to  feed  his  donkey,  he  took  a 
handful  of  the  grain  and  walked  at  his  head  and 
let  the  animal  eat  as  he  was  going  along  about  his 
work.  That  was  a  very  common  sight  in  the  city. 
To  an  American  the  sublime  and  the  ridicu- 
lous seem  to  meet  in  Athens. 


IV 

FEOM  ATHENS  TO  JAFFA 

My  stay  in  Athens  from  Tuesday  evening  to 
Thursday  afternoon  (May  27-29)  was  rather  short 
to  see  the  wonders  of  this  historic  city,  yet  I  had 
time  to  visit  the  places  of  the  greatest  importance, 
and  was  well  satisfied  to  move  onward  toward 
Palestine. 

Athens  is  not  on  the  sea.  Its  seaport  town  is 
Piraeus,  five  miles  away.  The  carriage  ride  to  the 
wharf  was  along  a  splendid  road  through  a  fine 
section  of  country.  Pirajus  is  a  busy  little  town 
and  is  an  important  shipping  point.  About  a 
hundred  steamers  lay  in  the  harbor,  and  among 
them  were  three  gunboats. 

Our  company  took  passage  on  the  steamship 
Osmanieh,  of  the  Khedivial  Mail  line,  bound  for 
Alexandria,  Egypt,  which  lies  five  hundred  ten 
miles  to  the  southeast.  This  steamer  is  much 
smaller  than  the  one  on  which  we  sailed  from  New 
York  to  Patras,  but  we  found  it  very  comfortable. 
37 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

Early  on  the  second  day  we  passed  the  eastern 
end  of  the  island  of  Crete.  We  were  again  cross- 
ing the  path  of  the  apostle  Paul,  for  we  read  of 
his  sailing  south  of  Crete  on  his  way  to  Kome 
as  a  prisoner. 

May  30  was  not  allowed  to  pass  without  some 
recognition  of  Decoration  day  by  the  party  of 
twenty-six  Americans  on  board  ship.  In  the  eve- 
ning they  gathered  in  the  music  room  and  sang 
patriotic  songs.  Then  followed  prayer,  an  ad- 
dress by  one  of  the  party  and  more  songs.  The 
next  morning  we  arrived  at  Alexandria,  where 
we  had  to  take  another  steamer  for  our  destina- 
tion. 

As  we  had  several  hours  here,  we  spent  the 
time  in  looking  about  the  city.  Alexandria  has 
a  population  of  400,000,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
important  seaports  of  Africa.  The  inhabitants 
are  mostly  Mohammedans.  We  were  shown  Pom- 
pey's  Pillar,  a  red  stone  shaft  nearly  one  hundred 
feet  in  height  and  ten  feet  in  diameter.  Our 
drive  through  the  city  took  us  through  the  poorer 
sections,  as  well  as  through  some  of  the  richest. 
There  is  great  wealth  here,  as  well  as  great  poverty. 

It  was  interesting  to  me  to  note  the  great  num« 
ber  of  small  shops,  or  stores,  as  we  call  them.  In 
38 


FROM    ATHENS    TO    JAFFA 

one  section  is  a  succession  of  drygoods  shops  and 
joining  this  is  a  section  where  there  are  many 
provision  shops;  then  would  be  seen  a  succession 
of  shops  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  orna- 
ments. 

Street  pedlers  were  numerous,  selling  fruits, 
vegetables,  bread  and  cakes.  Almost  all  were  far 
from  clean.  There  were  many  men  engaged  in 
selling  drinking  water  and  lemonade.  They  carried 
large  bottles  and  clanked  brass  rings  or  dishes 
together  to  call  attention  to  their  stock. 

A  great  variety  of  costumes  is  seen.  In  some 
parts  of  the  city  most  of  the  men  wear  the  robe 
or  long  cloak  reaching  nearly  to  the  feet.  Many 
wear  an  ordinary  coat  over  this  night-robe  sort 
of  garment.  Many  among  the  people,  both  men 
and  women,  go  barefooted.  Others  wear  slippers 
that  cover  the  toes  and  front  of  the  feet  with 
nothing  at  the  heel  to  hold  the  slippers  in  place. 
Some  wear  sandals  with  simply  a  strap  over  the 
toes.  In  some  parts  of  the  city  the  men  wear 
European  clothes. 

We  proceeded  from  Alexandria  on  the  steamer 
Prince  Abbas,  which  was  still  smaller  than  the 
Osmanieh,  but,  as  the  sea  was  smooth,  the  voy- 
age was  pleasant.  We  lay  in  the  harbor  at  Port 
39 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

Said  nearly  all  day  for  the  unloading  and  load- 
ing of  freight.  A  short  distance  from  us  a  steamer 
was  being  coaled.  The  coal  was  carried  up  steep 
planks  by  barefooted  natives.  They  worked  fast 
and  kept  up  a  constant  yelling. 

At  Port  Said  a  motley  crowd  of  second-  and 
third-class  passengers  came  on  board.  Moslem 
men  and  women  were  among  them.  The  women 
wore  their  black  or  dark  veils  constantly.  Some 
had  the  metallic  nose-piece.  At  the  hour  of  prayer 
for  the  Mohammedans  some  of  the  men  went 
through  with  their  devotions.  I  watched  one  as 
he  made  his  preparations  for  the  ceremony.  He 
first  washed  his  hands  and  arms  up  to  the  elbows 
very  carefully  three  times,  by  having  water  poured 
upon  his  hands.  He  washed  his  feet  and  ankles 
likewise,  then  his  face.  His  prayer  rug  was  laid 
down  and,  standing  in  his  bare  feet,  he  turned  his 
face  toward  Mecca,  then  turned  his  head  toward 
the  right  and  toward  the  left.  He  bent  forward, 
placing  his  hands  on  his  legs  just  above  his  knees. 
Then  he  kneeled  down  and  bent  forward  twice 
until  his  forehead  touched  his  rug.  He  rose  to 
his  feet  and  went  through  this  round  of  exercises 
seven  times.  In  each  position  which  he  assumed 
he  repeated  a  prayer.  Having  finished,  he  put  on 
40> 


FROM    ATHENS    TO    JAFFA 

his  shoes  and  went  about  his  affairs.  The  devoted 
Mohammedan  prays  in  this  manner  five  times  a 
day,  at  the  beginning  of  dawn,  at  about  eight  in 
the  morning,  at  noon,  at  sunset  and  at  half  past 
eight  in  the  evening. 

A  voyage  of  about  three  hundred  miles  from 
Alexandria  brought  us  to  Jaffa.  There  is  no  har- 
bor at  the  latter  place,  and  the  steamer  anchored 
nearly  a  mile  from  shore.  The  passengers  had  to 
pass  a  medical  examination  before  they  were  al- 
lowed to  land.  We  were  taken  off  the  steamer  in 
rowboats  and,  as  the  waves  were  rolling,  the  tri'J) 
to  shore  was  very  interesting.  We  had  been  ea- 
gerly looking  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Holy  Land, 
and  we  hailed  with  delight  our  first  sight  of 
Palestine.  Our  feet  were  pressing  the  soil  of  the 
land  loved  by  all  believers  in  the  true  God.  We 
were  at  Jaffa,  the  Joppa  of  the  scriptures. 

The  first  demand  upon  us  after  landing  was  to 
pass  through  the  custom-house.  The  Turkish  gov- 
ernment is  exacting  with  reference  to  duties,  espe- 
cially on  tobacco  and  spirits.  Our  conductor,  Mr, 
Vickers,  assured  the  inspectors  that  our  party  did 
not  indulge  in  the  use  of  liquor  or  tobacco,  and 
they  were  satisfied  with  opening  and  examining 
two  or  three  suitcases  only. 
41 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

As  we  passed  out  of  the  custom-house,  we  en- 
tered a  narrow  street,  too  narrow  and  steep  for 
carriages,  which  was  lined  on  each  side  with  little 
shops.  The  street  was  filled  with  people  and 
donkeys.  There  was  a  throng  of  beggars,  many 
of  whom  were  pitiable  objects,  crippled,  sore-eyed, 
dirty  and  wretched-appearing.  The  street  was 
filthy  and  ill-smelling. 

After  a  short  walk  we  came  to  the  carriages 
which  were  to  convey  us  to  our  stopping-place, 
where  we  were  to  have  lunch  at  noon.  It  was  still 
early  in  the  forenoon  and  we  started  out  in  car- 
riages to  see  the  city. 

Jaffa  is  still  the  seaport  of  Jerusalem,  as  it 
was  in  the  time  of  Solomon,  when  Hiram,  king  of 
Tyre,  sent  timber  hither  from  Lebanon  for  the 
construction  of  the  great  temple.  This  timber  was 
convened  from  Lebanon  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea 
and  floated  on  the  sea  to  Joppa,  whence  it  was 
carried  a  distance  of  a  little  more  than  fifty  miles 
to  Jerusalem  (1  Kings  5 :  9 ;  2  Chron.  2 :  16) .  Jop- 
pa is  mentioned  in  Bible  history  as  the  place  from 
which  Jonah  sailed,  when  he  undertook  to  flee 
from  the  Lord  and  thus  avoid  the  work  to  which 
he  had  been  divinely  appointed. 

The  city  has  at  present  a  population  of  50,000 

42 


FEOM    ATHENS    TO    JAFFA 

Of  these  30,000  are  Mohammedans,  10,000  Jews 
and  10,000  Christians.  The  buildings  are  mostly 
of  stone.  There  are  some  fine  modern  structures. 
Hospitals,  schools  and  orphanages  have  been  es- 
tablished through  Christian  benevolence. 

In  our  drive  about  Jaffa  we  visited  the  tradi- 
tional site  of  the  house  of  Simon  the  Tanner.  The 
New  Testament  narrative  shows  that  his  house 
was  near  the  sea,  and  this  location  answers  that 
condition.  We  entered  the  courtyard  of  the  house 
and  found  a  crowd  of  beggars  about  the  well.  We 
were  warned  by  our  guide  against  pickpockets. 
The  building  is,  in  part,  occupied  as  a  tannery. 

We  secured  permission  to  ascend  the  stone 
stairway  to  the  top  of  the  house.  We  had  our 
doubts  about  this  being  the  house  of  Simon,  but 
we  were  satisfied  that  our  location  was  something 
like  that  of  Peter  when  he  was  on  the  house-top 
for  prayer.  The  roof  is  of  stone  and  constructed 
for  use  as  a  place  to  sit  or  rest. 

As  we  passed  from  this  place,  we  saw  beggars 
sitting  by  the  wayside  asking  piteously  for  "bak- 
sheesh." One  woman  with  two  or  three  small  chil- 
dren sat  begging  by  a  road  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
city. 

We  rode  to  a  Russian  church  which  is  built 
43 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

upon  what  is  said  to  be  the  site  of  the  home  of 
Dorcas  (Acts  9 :  36-42).  We  were  conducted  down 
into  a  rock-hewn  tomb,  which  was  said  to  be  that 
of  Dorcas.  I  know  that  the  history  recorded  in 
the  Bible  concerning  Dorcas  is  reliable,  but  I  can 
not  say  so  much  for  the  reliability  of  the  tradi- 
tion that  the  home  and  tomb  of  Dorcas  were  here. 
It  was  interesting,  however,  to  recall  the  story  of 
the  miracle  that  was  wrought  near  by,  if  not  there. 
We  were  permitted  to  enter  the  church  and  ascend 
the  tower  to  the  height  of  a  hundred  feet.  From 
this  point  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  sea  to  the 
west,  of  the  plain  of  Sharon  to  the  north  and  east, 
and  of  the  country  to  the  south.  The  region  about 
Jaffa  is  level,  fertile  and  well  adapted  to  agricul- 
ture. The  view  northward  extends  to  Mount  Car- 
mel,  and  eastward  to  the  mountains  of  Judea. 

In  and  about  Jaffa  there  are  many  fruit  trees. 
Lemons,  oranges,  olives,  figs,  apricots  and  grapes 
are  produced  in  large  quantities.  I  think  the 
best  oranges  I  ever  ate  grew  about  Jaffa.  They 
were  large,  sweet  and  juicy  and  of  a  delicious 
flavor. 

In  going  through  the  streets  of  Jaffa  I  saw 
sights  that  were  new  to  me.  I  had  seen  at  home 
great  loads  of  barrels  on  wagons,  but  here  I  saw 
44 


FROM    ATHENS    TO    JAFFA 

a  train  of  camels  loaded  with  large  barrels.  Sev- 
eral of  these  were  fastened  on  either  side  of  each 
camel.  It  looked  strange  indeed  to  me  to  see  a 
train  of  camels  going  through  the  streets  thus 
loaded. 

A  little  later  I  saw  a  camel  train  loaded  with 
lumber.  Each  camel  had  a  bundle  of  boards,  per- 
haps fourteen  feet  long,  fastened  upon  either  side. 
To  one  accustomed  to  seeing  wagons  used  for  haul- 
ing lumber,  this  mode  of  transportation  seemed 
strange  enough.  The  camel  is  trained  to  lie  down 
when  told,  and  its  burden  is  secured  to  it  while 
in  that  position;  and  when  the  driver  wishes  to 
proceed,  the  animal  arises  and  goes  on.  It  lies 
down  also  at  the  word  of  the  driver  to  have  the 
load  removed. 

It  is  not  safe  for  tourists  to  drink  the  water 
of  Palestine  until  it  has  been  boiled.  The  people 
of  our  party  were  looked  upon  by  the  hotel  pro- 
prietors and  waiters  as  being  peculiar,  because  we 
did  not  drink  wine.  It  seems  to  be  very  common 
for  tourists  to  drink  wine,  but  our  party  called 
for  boiled  water  at  every  stopping-place. 

It  was  June  2  when  we  entered  Palestine.  The 
weather  was  pleasant.  There  was  no  thought  of 
rain,  for  it  does  not  rain  from  April  to  October. 

45 


PHYSICAL  FEATUEES  OF  PALESTINE 

The  name  Palestine  is  from  the  term  which  the 
Greeks  applied  to  the  land  inhabited  by  the  Phil- 
istines. The  Greek  form  of  the  word  is  Palais- 
tine  and  the  Latin  form  is  Palestina.  We  often 
call  this  country  the  Holy  Land,  and  properly, 
too,  because  the  prophet  Zechariah  employed  this 
term  in  speaking  of  it  where  he  said,  "And  the 
Lord  shall  inherit  Judah  his  portion  in  the  holy 
land,  and  shall  choose  Jerusalem  again." 

In  our  school  maps  of  Asia  we  notice  a  small 
stretch  of  country  at  the  east  end  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea.  This  is  called  Syria,  and  is  four 
hundred  miles  from  north  to  south  and  from  seven- 
ty to  one  hundred  miles  from  east  to  west.  The 
southern  part  of  this  country  is  known  as  Pales- 
tine. Its  greatest  length  from  north  to  south  is 
not  more  than  one  hundred  sixty  miles.  Its  coast 
line  on  the  Great  Sea,  as  the  Mediterranean  was 
anciently  called,  is  about  two  hundred  miles. 
46 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF  PALESTINE 

On  the  north  of  this  wonderful  land  are  the  moun- 
tains of  Lebanon  and  on  the  south  is  the  desert, 
while  on  the  east  is  the  great  wilderness  country 
beyond  the  mountains  of  Moab.  The  coast  line 
extends  from  northeast  to  southwest  and  the  east- 
ern boundary  extends  nearly  in  a  northerly  and 
southerly  direction. 

It  is  customary  to  think  of  the  portion  west 
of  the  Jordan  River  as  Palestine,  but  we  must 
bear  in  mind  that  a  considerable  portion  to  the 
east  is  included,  although  most  of  the  great  events 
of  Bible  history  are  located  in  the  land  west  of 
the  river.  From  the  Mediterranean  Sea  eastward 
to  the  place  where  the  Jordan  flows  into  the  Dead 
Sea  is  something  more  than  fifty  miles.  From  the 
Sea  of  Galilee  directly  westward  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean is  only  thirty  miles.  Four  or  five  Ameri- 
can counties  contain  as  much  territory  as  that 
portion  of  Palestine  west  of  the  Jordan.  The 
whole  surface  of  Palestine  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  could  be  placed  in  the  state  of  Maryland, 
and  it  would  take  twenty-two  Palestines  to  cover 
the  state  of  Texas.  We  look  upon  Holland  as  a 
small  country,  and  yet  it  is  larger  than  all  Pales- 
tine. If  a  track  were  constructed  entirely 
around  Palestine,  a  passenger  train  would  require 

47 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

only  ten  hours  to  travel  the  whole  distance  at 
fifty  miles  an  hour. 

The  Holy  Land  has  strikingly  diversified  physi- 
cal features.  Entering  it  from  the  west,  we  find 
a  coast  plain  along  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  vary- 
ing in  width  from  a  mile  or  two  to  fifteen  miles. 
This  plain  is  broken  through  toward  its  northern 
part  by  Mount  Carmel,  where  there  is  a  strip  only 
six  hundred  feet  wide  between  the  sea  and  the 
mountain.  The  coast  plain  rises  but  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  sea  and  is  for  the  most  part 
very  fertile.  This  is  the  part  of  Canaan  (an  early 
name  for  Palestine)  which  was  occupied  by  the 
Philistines. 

From  the  coast  plain  eastward  there  is  a 
rise  of  the  surface  to  a  range  of  hills  or  moun- 
tains that  extends  parallel  to  the  plain.  The 
height  of  this  range  varies  from  one  thousand  five 
hundred  to  three  thousand  feet.  It  reaches  its 
greatest  elevation  in  Mount  Lebanon  at  the  north 
and  in  the  region  of  Hebron  at  the  south.  This 
forms  the  watershed  of  western  Palestine,  streams 
flowing  from  it  westward  into  the  Mediterranean 
and  eastward  into  the  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea. 
There  are  numerous  watercourses,  or  wadies,  that 
break  through  this  range  and  in  many  places  the 

48 


PHYSICAL    FEATURES    OF    PALESTINE 

mountainsides  are  jagged  and  bare.  The  range 
is  cut  in  two  b^'  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  which 
extends  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea  along  the 
base  of  Mount  Carmel  in  a  southeaKSterly  direc- 
tion to  the  Jordan  River.  This  is  the  most  beauti- 
ful and  productive  region  of  Palestine,  and  at  the 
present  time  much  attention  is  being  given  to  its 
cultivation.  On  the  range  just  mentioned  are 
Jerusalem,  Bethlehem,  Shechem,  Nazareth,  and 
many  other  places  of  note  in  sacred  history. 

This  mountain  range  descends  sharply  on  the 
east  into  the  Jordan  valley.  The  level  of  the  Dead 
Sea  is  nearly  one  thousand  three  hundred  feet 
below  that  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  range 
in  many  places  is  from  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred to  three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
Mediterranean,  therefore  in  descending  from  the 
high  points  of  the  mountains  to  the  Jordan,  one 
goes  down  four  thousand  feet  in  a  distance  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles. 

The  Jordan  valley  is  one  of  the  rich  regions 
of  the  Holy  Land.  Its  width  varies  from  five  to 
fifteen  miles.  For  a  short  distance  north  of  the 
Dead  Sea  the  soil  is  impregnated  with  salt  to  such 
a  degree  that  there  is  little  vegetable  growth. 
Further  north  the  soil  is  productive.  With  proper 

49 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

irrigation  this  valley  would  become  one  of  the 
garden  spots  of  the  earth.  As  it  is,  great  fields 
of  grain  are  to  be  seen  in  spring  and  summer, 
and  large  flocks  and  herds  are  supported.  Bed- 
ouin camps  are  numerous  here.  The  northern 
end  of  the  valley  lies  twenty-five  miles  north  of 
the  Sea  of  Galilee. 

To  the  east  of  the  Jordan  valley  and  parallel 
with  it  is  a  range  of  mountains,  which  in  places 
reaches  an  elevation  of  three  thousand  feet.  The 
ascent  from  the  valley  to  the  summit  of  this  range 
is  as  rapid  as  that  on  the  west  side.  At  the  north 
is  Anti-Lebanon,  in  which  stands  lofty,  snow-clad 
Mount  Hermon,  and  at  the  south,  just  back  from 
"the  tongue"  of  the  Dead  Sea  the  elevation  is 
three  thousand  feet. 

This  eastern  range  is  broken  through  between 
the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  the  Dead  Sea  by  the  rivers 
Yarmuk  and  Jabbok,  and  further  south  by  the 
Arnon,  which  flows  into  the  Dead  Sea.  The  can- 
yon through  which  the  Arnon  flows  is  fifty  miles 
long  and  its  sides  rise  to  a  height  of  one  thousand 
five  hundred  to  three  thousand  feet  on  either  side, 
making  it  one  of  the  greatest  canyons  of  earth. 

It  was  from  Mount  Nebo  in  this  range,  a 
height  almost  east  from  Jerusalem,  that  the  Lord 
50 


PHYSICAL    FEATURES    OF    PALESTINE 

gave  Moses  his  wonderful  view  of  the  Promised 
Land.  The  atmosphere  of  Palestine  is  so  clear, 
and  the  elevation  where  Moses  stood  is  so  great, 
that  he  could  see  plainly  the  stretches  of  coun- 
try to  the  north,  west  and  south,  that  his  people 
were  to  possess  and  inhabit. 

The  low-lying  Jordan  valley  is  very  warm.  It 
is  said  that  there  is  no  other  part  of  the  earth's 
surface  that  sinks  to  so  great  a  depth  as  this.  As 
one  rises  to  the  higher  altitude  of  the  mountains, 
the  heat  diminishes  and  the  air  is  invigorating. 
At  night  the  temperature  is  so  low  that  one  needs 
plenty  of  covering  to  be  comfortable. 

The  land  of  Palestine  is  remarkable  for  its 
variety  of  physical  features,  of  extremes  of  drouth 
and  moisture,  of  temperature  and  of  productions. 
It  is  remarkable  as  being  the  scene  of  events  of 
age-long  interest  and  the  center  of  attraction 
among  all  lands  to  myriads  of  devout  souls  of 
many  varying  creeds. 


61 


VI 
FKOM  JAFFA  TO  JERUSALEM 

There  are  two  railroad  lines  in  Palestine.  One 
connects  Jaffa  with  Jerusalem,  and  the  other  ex- 
tends from  Haifa,  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  to 
Semakh,  at  the  foot  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  ex- 
tends on  northward  to  Damascus.  At  present  a 
line  is  being  graded  to  connect  Jerusalem  with 
the  railroad  that  extends  across  Palestine  from 
Haifa  to  Damascus. 

To  one  who  has  read  the  Bible  and  whose  ideas 
of  Bible  lands  have  come  from  that  reading,  it 
seems  almost  unreal  to  think  of  riding  in  a  rail- 
way train  in  that  country.  In  the  Bible  people 
are  represented  as  traveling  on  foot,  or  riding  on 
horses,  asses  or  camels,  and  sometimes  in  chariots. 
In  fact,  it  has  been  only  within  the  last  few  years 
that  the  traveler  could  ride  by  railway  from  Jaffa 
to  Jerusalem. 

After  lunch  at  Hardegg's  Jerusalem  Hotel  in 
Jaffa,  where  we  had  European  cooking,  we  rode 

52 


FROM     JAFFA    TO    JERUSALEM 

in  carriages  to  the  railroad  station,  from  which 
the  train  was  to  start  at  two  o'clock.  Our  party 
of  twenty-six  with  our  guides  had  a  railway  car- 
riage to  ourselves.  The  carriage  (coach)  had 
doors  at  the  ends,  and  was  divided  into  four  com- 
partments, one  of  which  was  large,  having  sit- 
tings for  sixteen  persons.  The  seats  extended 
along  the  two  sides  of  the  carriage.  The  other 
compartments  were  small  and  the  seats  extended 
crosswise  of  the  carriage.  Most  of  us  were  ac- 
customed to  American  coaches  only. 

It  was  an  interested  company  of  passengers 
that  occupied  the  carriage  that  afternoon.  We 
did  not  wish  to  let  a  single  object  of  interest 
escape  our  notice.  We  wanted  to  see  the  trees, 
the  grain,  the  implements  of  agriculture,  the  ani- 
mals and  the  people,  as  well  as  the  plains,  the 
hills  and  the  mountains.  The  train  ran  slowly 
and  stopped  frequently,  and  we  could  see  much 
on  the  route.  We  passed  from  one  side  of  the 
car  to  the  other,  as  different  objects  of  interest 
came  into  view. 

We  passed  out  of  Jafifa  eastward  into  the  plain 
of  Sharon.  This  is  a  broad,  level  and  fertile  re- 
gion. For  some  distance,  perhaps  fifteen  miles, 
fruit  trees   were   abundant,   especially,    apricot, 

53 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

olive  and  fig  trees.  There  were  fields  of  grain, 
mostly  of  wheat,  in  every  direction. 

It  was  the  time  of  harvest.  We  made  the  jour- 
ney on  June  2.  Some  of  the  grain  had  already 
been  harvested,  and  all  seemed  ripe  and  ready  to 
harvest.  There  has  been  little  advance  in  the 
methods  of  agriculture  in  the  last  two  or  three 
thousand  years.  The  grain  is  cut  by  men  and 
women  with  sickles.  They  bind  it  into  bundles 
and  lay  it  down  upon  the  ground.  No  rain  falls 
during  the  summer,  so  that  it  is  not  necessary  to 
put  it  into  shocks  or  stacks  to  keep  it  dry.  The 
people  do  not  seem  to  be  in  any  great  hurry  to 
care  for  their  grain.  On  account  of  the  lack  of 
rain  upon  the  ripened  crop  the  grain  does  not 
shell  out  much  from  handling,  even  if  it  is  very 
ripe. 

The  bundles  of  grain  are  carried  to  the  place 
of  thrashing  on  the  backs  of  donkeys  or  camels, 
and  sometimes  on  the  heads  of  women.  Nowhere 
on  the  way  to  Jerusalem  did  we  see  grain  hauled 
on  wagons.  We  saw  camels  with  great  loads  of 
grain  bound  upon  them.  We  also  saw  loaded 
donkeys,  many  of  them  so  covered  with  grain  that 
we  could  scarcely  see  the  animals  at  all.  It  was 
interesting  to  see  the  camels  carrying  their  loads 

54 


PLOWING    IN    PALESTINE 


HAILING    GRAIN     FROM    THE    FIELDS 


FROM     JAFFA     TO     JERUSALEM 

to  the  thrashing-floors  and  lying  down  to  have 
the  bundles  of  grain  removed,  then  getting  up  to 
go  back  to  the  field  for  another  load.  Once  in  a 
while  we  saw  a  camel  acting  in  a  stubborn  man- 
ner. The  driver  would  give  the  command  to  it 
to  lie  down,  and  it  would  obey  very  reluctantly, 
and  then  would  get  right  up  before  the  load  was 
in  place  or  before  the  driver  had  mounted. 

We  saw  women  and  girls  gleaning  in  the 
wheat  fields  just  as  Ruth  gleaned  centuries  ago 
in  the  fields  of  Boaz.  After  the  reapers  have  fin- 
ished their  work  and  the  bundles  are  carried 
away,  the  gleaners  go  over  the  ground,  carefully 
picking  up  every  stalk  that  has  been  missed.  I 
saw  several  women  returning  to  their  homes  in 
villages  at  the  close  of  the  day,  carrying  on  their 
heads  the  bundles  of  grain  they  had  succeeded  in 
gleaning.  The  most  successful  of  them  could  not 
have  gathered  more  than  six  or  eight  quarts  of 
wheat  after  it  was  thrashed. 

I  saw  no  thrashing-machines  in  Palestine. 
The  grain  is  separated  from  the  straw  in  the  way 
it  was  in  David's  time.  The  bundles  of  grain  are 
spread  over  a  level  space  in  circular  form  about 
twenty-five  feet  in  diameter.  Donkeys,  camels  or 
cattle   are  driven   round   and   round   over   thi« 

65 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

thrashing-floor  until  the  grain  is  tramped  out  of 
the  straw  and  chaff.  Often  the  animals  are 
hitched  to  an  instrument  something  like  a  stone- 
boat,  which  they  drag  over  the  straw  to  beat  out 
the  grain.  I  saw  several  places  where  a  donkey 
and  a  cow  were  hitched  together  for  this  work. 

After  the  flooring  had  been  well  trodden,  the 
straw  was  shaken  thoroughly  to  free  it  from  the 
grain  and  pitched  to  one  side,  and  the  grain  and 
chaff  were  gathered  into  a  heap.  When  the  wind 
blows,  the  workers  toss  the  grain  and  chaff  into 
the  air,  that  the  wind  may  carry  the  chaff  away, 
leaving  only  the  grain.  This  method  of  winnow- 
ing grain  was  in  use  in  Bible  times. 

After  crossing  the  plain  of  Sharon  we  came 
to  the  hills  and  mountains  of  Judea.  We  passed 
close  to  the  place  which  was  anciently  called 
Ajalon,  where  Joshua  commanded  the  sun  and 
the  moon  to  stand  still  (Josh.  10:12-14),  while 
Joshua  defeated  the  five  kings  of  the  Amorites. 

The  railroad  winds  among  hills  and  valleys 
from  this  point  to  Jerusalem.  It  passes  through 
historic  ground.  Zorah  was  in  plain  sight.  This 
is  noted  as  being  the  birthplace  of  Samson  and 
the  place  where  he  was  buried.  We  must  have 
passed  through  the  region  where  Samson  do- 
56 


FEOM     JAFFA     TO     JEEUSALEM 

stroyed  the  grain  of  the  Philistines  by  sending 
foxes  into  it  with  firebrands  attached  to  their 
tails  (Judges  15:4).  High  up  on  the  steep  side 
of  a  mountain  we  saw  a  cave  in  which  Samson  is 
said  to  have  hidden  to  escape  from  the  Philistines. 

The  hills  and  mountains  were  mostly  rugged 
and  barren.  Here  and  there  were  small  patches 
of  grain,  and  a  few  olive  trees  were  seen.  We  saw 
large  flocks  of  goats  on  the  mountainsides,  feed- 
ing upon  the  scanty  vegetation  which  they  found. 
In  some  places  the  hillsides  were  terraced  and 
carefully  cultivated. 

At  about  six  o'clock  we  came  within  sight  of 
Jerusalem.  We  had  come  fifty-four  miles  from 
Jafifa  and  in  that  distance  we  had  ascended  nearly 
two  thousand  five  hundred  feet,  for  Jerusalem 
is  that  much  higher  than  Jaffa.  We  had  literally 
"gone  up"  to  Jerusalem.  We  get  something  of  an 
idea  of  the  size  of  Palestine,  as  we  note  that  in 
traveling  the  fifty-four  miles  from  Jaffa  to  Jeru- 
salem we  went  about  one-half  of  the  distance  across 
the  country  from  west  to  east. 

We  were  all  eager  to  catch  our  first  glimpse  of 
the  sacred  city,  and  when  we  saw  it,  our  hearts 
were  thrilled.  We  were  at  the  center  of  what  was 
once  a  great  nation  and   a  great  ecclesiastical 

67 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

system.  We  were  at  the  place  where  great  events 
had  taken  place.  In  striking  contrast  to  our  ideas 
of  what  Jerusalem  had  been  was  the  scene  that 
met  our  ejes  as  we  passed  out  of  the  station 
grounds.  There  was  a  great  crowd  of  drivers, 
pedlers,  beggars  and  idlers  eager  to  get  something 
from  the  tourists.  They  were  exceedingly  noisy 
and  demonstrative,  but  as  all  arrangements  had 
been  made  for  the  arrival  of  our  party  and  our 
conveyance  to  the  hotel,  we  had  no  special  diflS- 
culty  in  getting  through  the  crowd.  The  station 
is  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  city  and 
we  were  conveyed  to  our  hotel  in  the  city  in  car- 
riages, riding  northward  to  the  Jaifa  gate,  the 
principal  gate  in  the  west  wall  of  Jerusalem.  We 
were  taken  to  the  Grand  New  Hotel,  where  we 
were  very  comfortably  cared  for,  having  pleasant 
rooms,  good  beds  and  good  food. 


68 


VII 
A  VIEW  OF  JEKUSALEM 

One  can  not  see  Jerusalem  satisfactorily  from 
any  one  point,  but  needs  to  look  at  it  both  at 
long  range  and  at  short.  He  needs  to  find  some 
point  from  which  he  can  see  the  whole  city  to 
get  an  idea  of  the  size,  shape  and  general  ap- 
pearance. 

From  several  points  around  Jerusalem  such 
a  view  can  be  secured,  since  there  are  mountains 
around  the  city.  The  best  place  that  I  found 
from  which  to  view  Jerusalem  was  the  Mount  of 
Olives  to  the  east  of  the  city.  From  here  one  looks 
westward  across  the  valley  of  Kidron  and  sees 
the  city  proper  enclosed  by  an  irregular-shaped 
wall  of  four  sides.  The  distance  around  the  wall 
is  about  two  and  a  half  miles.  Its  extent  from 
east  to  west  is  greater  than  that  from  north  to 
south. 

The  location  of  the  present  wall  is  not  the 
same  as  the  ancient  one,  for  there  have  been  sev- 

59 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

eral  changes  since  David's  time.  The  wall  is 
thirty-eight  and  a  half  feet  high  and  is  massive. 
Some  of  the  blocks  of  stone  which  form  the  pres- 
ent wall  have  probably  done  service  for  upward 
of  three  thousand  years,  for  it  is  claimed  that 
they  were  in  use  in  the  time  of  the  jebusites,  who 
held  this  site  before  Israel  gained  it. 

In  looking  down  upon  Jerusalem  it  is  seen 
that  there  are  hills  in  the  city  itself.  The  space 
within  the  walls  is  far  from  being  level,  though 
it  is  more  nearly  so  now  than  anciently,  for  the 
lower  parts  have  been  filled  up  to  a  considerable 
extent.  There  is  a  valley  extending  in  a  northerly 
and  southerly  direction  through  the  city  and  is 
called  the  Tyropeon  valley.  On  each  side  of  this 
valley  are  two  hills.  These  hills  and  vallej'^s  were 
very  noticeable  in  ancient  times.  It  was  an  ideal 
place  of  defense,  and  a  picturesque  place  for  a 
city,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  ancients. 

The  space  within  the  walls  is  closely  built  up. 
From  the  Mount  of  Olives  one  sees  the  great 
buildings  used  by  Christians,  Jews  and  Moham- 
medans as  places  of  worship.  The  buildings  are 
of  stone  and  have  flat  roofs.  Some  are  four  or 
five  stories  high,  but  ordinarily  they  are  only  one 
or  two.    The  walls  are  very  thick,  thus  rendering 

60 


A    VIEW    OF    JERUSALEM 

the  houses  comparatively  cool,  even  during  the 
hot  middays  of  Palestine. 

From  the  high  point  of  view  previously  men- 
tioned one  sees  that  much  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
lies  outside  of  the  walls.  The  space  north  of  the 
walls  for  some  distance  is  built  up,  and  this  may 
be  called  the  new  part  of  the  city.  There  are 
many  fine  residences  and  there  are  many  houses 
where  there  is  distressing  poverty.  The  building 
stone  is  light  in  color,  and  the  extreme  brightness 
of  the  sun,  as  it  is  reflected  from  the  buildings 
and  numerous  walls  of  the  city,  is  trying  to  the 
eyes. 

Another  point  from  which  one  gains  a  good 
view  of  the  city  is  the  tower  of  the  German  Luth- 
eran church,  which  occupies  a  position  near  the 
center  of  the  city  proper.  This  church  was  estab- 
lished a  few  years  ago  by  the  German  emperor. 
A  company  of  us  went  there  one  day  and  secured 
permission  to  ascend  the  tower  to  a  height  of  a 
hundred  twenty  feet.  There  was  a  fine  view  in  all 
directions.  To  the  north  lies  a  range  of  hills 
which  rises  to  a  considerable  height  toward  the 
east.  To  the  north  also  is  seen  the  hill  of  Calvary 
not  far  from  the  wall.  To  the  east  is  a  range  of 
hills  of  which  the  Mount  of  Olives  is  the  most  im- 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

portant.  Looking  in  this  direction  one  sees  the 
Temple  Area,  in  which  the  Mosque  of  Omar  is 
the  most  conspicuous  building.  To  the  south  we 
see  over  the  lower  levels  of  the  city  and  outside 
the  walls  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  beyond  which  a 
range  of  hills  shuts  off  the  view  southward.  One 
sees  to  the  west  a  range  of  hills  beyond  the  valley 
of  Hinnom  which  extends  parallel  with  the  west 
wall  of  the  city  not  far  from  it. 

The  population  of  Jerusalem  is  about  70,000. 
About  35,000  people  reside  outside  the  city  walls. 
There  are  10,000  Mohammedans,  45,000  Jews  and 
15,000  Christians.  The  Christians  include  7,000 
Orthodox  Greeks,  4,000  Latins,  or  Roman  Catho- 
lics, 1,000  Armenians,  1,G00  Protestants  and  a  few 
United  Greeks,  United  Armenians,  Copts,  Abys- 
sinians  and  Syrians. 

The  number  of  Jews  has  greatly  increased  with- 
in the  last  few  years.  There  is  no  encouragement 
from  the  Turkish  government  for  Jewish  immigra- 
tion into  Palestine,  and  there  is  little  business  to 
attract  Jews  to  that  country,  yet  many  have  come. 
They  are  supported  to  a  considerable  extent 
through  the  benevolence  of  European  Jews. 


EAST    PART    OF    .TERVSALEJ[    AND    THE    MOUNT    OF    OLB'ES 


NORTIT     PART    OF    .TF.Rl'SAT.EM 


\ 


VIII 
THE  TEMPLE  SITE 

The  hill  Jebus,  as  the  site  of  Jerusalem  was 
anciently  called,  was  a  stronghold  when  the  Is- 
raelites entered  Canaan.  It  did  not  come  fully 
into  the  possession  of  this  people  until  it  was 
captured  by  David  during  his  reign.  After  he  had 
reigned  seven  years  at  Hebron,  he  removed  the 
seat  of  government  to  Jerusalem. 

There  are  four  distinct  hills  within  the  present 
city  walls.  They  are  Bezetha  in  the  northeast, 
Moriah  in  the  southeast,  Zion  in  the  southwest, 
and  Akra  in  the  northwest.  The  portion  that  has 
for  three  thousand  years  been  a  great  center  of 
interest  is  the  southeast  section,  which  is  called 
Moriah.  This  is  probably  the  Moriah  of  Abra- 
ham's time,  and  therefore  its  historic  interest 
dates  back  almost  to  the  beginning  of  the  Israel- 
itish  race. 

I  wish  to  describe  my  visit  to  the  site  of  the 
ancient  Jewish  temple.  This  particular  part  of 
63 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

Jerusalem  is  known  as  the  Temple  Area.  It  oc- 
cupies about  one-sixth  of  the  entire  space  within 
the  present  walls  of  the  city.  It  is  an  irregular 
quadrangle.  The  north  side  is  three  hundred  fifty- 
one  yards  in  length,  the  south  is  three  hundred 
nine  yards,  the  east  is  five  hundred  eighteen  yards 
and  the  west  side  is  five  hundred  fifty-six  yards. 
This  area  is  not  entirely  level,  even  after  much 
grading  has  been  done.  It  is  ten  feet  higher  in 
the  northwest  corner  than  in  other  parts.  The 
southeast  portion  has  been  raised  several  yards. 

As  I  entered  the  place  I  saw  a  space  of  some- 
thing like  thirty-five  acres  with  but  two  large 
buildings  in  it.  It  was  about  nine  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon  of  June  4,  1913,  that  I  first  stepped  into 
this  sacred  enclosure.  The  sun  was  beating  down 
with  strength  upon  the  large  open  space,  and  as 
the  area  is  all  paved  with  stone,  the  rays  of  the 
sun  were  reflected  and  made  the  place  very  hot. 
It  was  desirable  to  be  in  the  shade  as  much  as 
possible. 

It  seemed  to  me  almost  too  wonderful  to  be 
true,  that  I  was  at  the  place  where  Abraham 
showed  his  faith  in  God  by  placing  his  son  Isaac 
on  the  altar  for  sacrifice;  where  David  erected 
an  altar  (2  Sam.  24 :  25) ;  where  the  temple  stood 

64 


THE    TEMPLE    SITE 

which  King  Solomon  built  and  for  which  his 
father,  King  David,  had  made  magnificent  prepa- 
rations; where  the  Jews,  after  their  return  from 
their  seventy  years'  captivity  in  Babylon,  built 
again  the  temple  that  had  been  destroyed  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  which  was  dedicated  amid 
the  rejoicing  and  weeping  of  the  returned  cap- 
tives; where  the  costly  and  elaborate  temple  of 
Herod  stood;  where  Jesus  was  brought  when 
eight  days  old  to  be  presented  before  the  Lord, 
and  was  recognized  by  the  aged  priest  Simeon  and 
the  aged  prophetess  Anna ;  where  He  was  brought 
when  twelve  years  of  age ;  where  He  twice  cleansed 
the  temple  of  trafifickers  in  animals  for  sacrifice 
and  in  money ;  where  He  came  to  attend  the  Pass- 
over more  than  once;  and  at  the  center  of  the 
system  that  falsely  and  unjustly  condemned  Jesus 
to  death.  Though  the  place  is  profaned  now,  yet 
it  seems  in  a  sense  holy  ground.  It  was  here  that 
the  holy  fire  was  long  kept  burning  upon  the  altar, 
and  the  recollection  of  this  and  other  facts  made 
me  feel  that  it  was  not  an  ordinary  place. 

The  Temple  Area  is  now  wholly  controlled  by 
the  Mohammedans.  It  is  held  by  them  to  be  the 
most  sacred  spot  in  the  world  next  to  Mecca. 
Orthodox  Jews  never  enter  it  for  fear  of  treading 

65 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

upon  the  "Most  Holy  Place."  The  most  important 
and  imposing  building  in  the  enclosure  is  the 
Dome  of  the  Eock,  commonly  called  the  Mosque 
of  Omar.  It  was  called  by  the  latter  name  by 
Europeans,  because  they  believed  that  it  was  built 
at  the  command  of  Omar;  but  Arabic  historians 
maintain  that  it  was  built  by  Abd  el-Melik.  It 
is  called  the  Dome  of  the  Eock  because  it  is  be- 
lieved that  it  is  built  upon  the  rock  upon  which 
Solomon's  temple  stood.  The  building  has  eight 
sides,  and  each  side  is  sixty-six  feet  and  six  inches 
in  length.  The  lower  part  is  covered  with  marble 
slabs.  The  upper  part  above  the  windows  is  cov- 
ered with  porcelain  tiles.  The  frieze  is  covered 
with  passages  from  the  Koran  in  Arabic.  The 
mosque  has  a  magnificent  gilded  dome,  and  this 
makes  the  Mosque  of  Omar  the  most  imposing 
structure  in  Jerusalem. 

Visitors  are  allowed  to  enter  the  mosque,  ex- 
cept on  Friday,  which  is  the  Mohammedan  holy 
day,  and  during  the  Nebi-Musa  festival,  or  Easter 
week.  The  Mohammedans  do  not  enter  the  mosque 
with  their  shoes  on  their  feet,  lest  they  should  de- 
file the  sacred  place,  and  visitors  are  not  allowed 
to  go  in  without  first  putting  on  the  slippers  fur- 
nished for  the  purpose.    As  we  came  to  the  en- 

66 


THE    TEMPLE    SITE 

trance,  Arab  attendants  put  felt  slippers  over  our 
shoes  and  tied  them  on.  They  had  slippers  large 
enough  to  cover  any  size  shoe  loosely,  for  they 
do  not  require  visitors  to  remove  their  shoes.  As 
we  came  out,  the  attendants  were  ready  to  remove 
the  slippers,  and  to  demand  "baksheesh."  There 
is  an  admission  fee  of  from  four  to  ten  francs. 

The  building  is  elaborately  and  richly  orna- 
mented throughout.  It  is  built  over  the  "rock," 
which  is  fifty-eight  feet  long  and  forty-three  feet 
wide.  It  is  said  that  the  great  Jewish  altar  for- 
merly stood  over  this  rock.  The  rock  is  carefully 
guarded  against  the  near  approach  of  Christians, 
whom  the  Mohammedans  call  infidels.  It  is  se- 
curely screened  in,  but  we  were  allowed  to  look 
at  it  through  the  lattice-work  around  it. 

We  were  permitted  to  descend  into  a  cavern 
under  the  "rock,"  and  were  shown  an  opening  in 
it,  through  which,  it  was  said,  the  blood  of  Jewish 
sacrifices  poured  from  the  altar  above. 

I  noticed  that  the  Mohammedans  did  not  re- 
move the  coverings  from  their  heads  as  they  en- 
tered this  mosque  or  any  other  place.  The  men 
keep  their  turbans  or  fezes  on  all  the  time,  even 
when  they  eat. 

From  the  Dome  of  the  Eock  we  passed  to  the 
67 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

south  side  of  the  Temple  Area  to  the  Mosque  of 
Aksa,  which  we  entered  after  having  again  put 
on  slippers  so  as  not  to  profane  the  sacred  (?) 
place.  This  structure  was  formerly  a  Christian 
church,  built  by  Justinian  and  several  times  de- 
stroyed. It  is  said  that  Omar  converted  the  church 
into  a  mosque  and  caused  the  doors  to  be  overlaid 
with  gold  and  silver  plates.  The  present  mosque 
represents  a  vast  amount  of  wealth.  Costly  rugs 
covered  the  extensive  floors  of  the  building. 

There  is  an  apartment  here  set  aside  for 
women,  where  they  can  hear  something  of  the 
services,  but  can  not  be  seen.  Women  have  not 
much  to  hope  for  in  this  world  or  in  the  next. 
Mohammedanism  declares  that  they  must  have 
their  faces  covered  when  in  public,  and  we  saw 
them  going  about  in  the  hot  days  of  that  warm 
climate  with  their  faces  closely  covered  with  black 
veils.  Some  wore  veils  that  covered  their  faces 
below  the  eyes  and  had  their  heads  covered  down 
to  the  eyes.  This  is  the  Egyptian  style.  The 
Turkish  Mohammedan  women  are  wearing  white 
veils,  and  some  of  the  stylish  young  women  wear 
very  thin  ones. 

I  saw  many  buildings  arranged  with  openings 
through  which  the  women  could  look  out  without 

68 


THE    TEMPLE    SITE 

being  seen.  Pipes,  like  small  drain-tile,  were  set 
closely  together  in  the  wall  for  this  purpose. 
Through  Christian  mission  schools  in  Mohamme- 
dan lands  the  condition  of  women  is  being  made 
more  endurable. 

After  leaving  this  mosque  we  went  down 
eighteen  steps  underneath  it  into  a  substructure, 
a  part  of  which  is  known  as  Solomon's  Stables, 
from  the  tradition  that  Solomon  used  the  place 
for  his  horses.  Mangers  were  shown  to  us,  and 
holes  through  the  corners  of  the  stone  columns, 
which  might  have  been  used  as  hitching-places  for 
horses.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  Crusaders 
used  these  vaults  as  stables  during  the  time  when 
they  held  possession  of  Jerusalem. 

Scattered  over  the  Temple  Area  there  are 
many  raised  places  with  prayer-recesses,  and  there 
are  numerous  fountains  where  Mohammedans 
wash  their  hands,  faces  and  feet  before  praying. 
The  area  is  planted  with  cypress  and  other  trees. 

It  would  seem  blessed  if  genuine  Christianity 
had  possession  of  this  spot,  which  is  made  sacred 
by  the  events  of  past  ages. 


IX 

THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST 

One  can  not  be  sure  as  to  the  location  of  the 
tomb  of  our  Lord.  There  are  two  places  in  Jeru- 
salem, the  one  inside  the  walls  and  the  other  out- 
side, that  are  claimed  by  their  respective  advo- 
cates to  be  the  place  where  He  lay. 

We  shall  speak  first  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulcher,  which  is  claimed  by  many  to  be  built 
over  the  tomb  of  Christ.  As  early  as  336  A.  D. 
churches  were  built  here  to  mark  the  spot.  It  is 
said  that  excavations  were  made  earlier  than  this 
date  and  a  cavern  was  found,  which  was  thought 
to  be  the  tomb.  It  is  said  that  Helena,  the  mother 
of  the  emperor  Constantine,  had  excavations 
made,  and  she  claimed  to  find  the  cross  on  which 
Christ  was  crucified. 

From  the  date  just  mentioned  until  now  there 

has  been  a  church  on  this  spot.    One  after  another 

has  been  erected  and  destroyed  in  whole  or  in 

part.    The  building  as  it  now  stands,  or  we  might 

70 


^^^^^^HI5^             ^^Tj' 

V 

'r| 

fa^^^llttriit  ^ 

ENTRANCE     TO     THE    CHURCH     OF     THE    HOLY     SEPULCHER 


GARDEN     TO-M):,     (.(Jlil)().\  S     CALVARY 


THE    TOMB    OF    CHKIST 

say  the  group  of  buildings,  is  largely  as  it  was 
built  in  1810.  It  covers  about  three  and  a  half 
acres  of  ground  and  is  nearly  square. 

There  are  twenty-four  different  chapels,  large 
and  small.  The  principal  one  is  called  the  Greek 
Cathedral.  There  are  chapels  for  different  sects, 
as  the  Greeks,  the  Latins,  the  Armenians,  the 
Copts,  the  Syrians,  the  Abyssinians,  and  there  are 
chapels  marking  the  traditional  places  of  events, 
as  the  Chapel  of  the  Angels,  and  the  Chapel  of 
the  Parting  of  the  Garments.  There  are  also 
chapels  in  honor  of  persons,  as  Empress  Helena, 
Mary  Magdalene  and  Longinus.  There  are  also 
several  monasteries  in  the  group  of  buildings. 

We  enter  the  church  through  a  comparatively 
small  doorway  for  such  a  great  building.  In  the 
vestibule  are  stationed  a  number  of  Turkish  sol- 
diers who  have  charge  of  the  keys*  of  the  church 
and  whose  duty  it  is  to  keep  order.  The  church 
is  used  jointly  by  several  different  sects,  each  sect 
having  certain  parts  of  the  building  for  its  own 
use  and  to  care  for.  These  sects  are  liable  to  tres- 
pass upon  one  another's  rights  and  quarrel  among 
themselves.  Such  a  quarrel  some  years  ago  pre- 
cipitated a  riot,  in  which  several  persons  were  in- 
jured, some  fatally.    These  soldiers  are  appointed 

n 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

by  the  Turkish  government  and  are  paid  by  the 
Christians. 

Passing  through  the  vestibule  we  enter  one  of 
the  churches,  or  chapels,  and  see  the  Stone  of  the 
Anointing,  on  which  it  is  claimed  that  the  body 
of  Jesus  lay,  or  rather  it  covers  what  tradition 
says  is  the  real  Stone  of  the  Anointing.  I  saw 
men  and  women,  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor, 
as  well  as  children,  kneeling  down  by  this  slab 
and  reverently  kissing  it. 

In  going  through  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
cher  one  is  lost  in  the  confusion  of  its  maze  of 
chapels,  stairways,  passageways  and  chambers. 
The  buildings  are  upon  different  levels  and  some 
of  the  chapels  are  one  above  another.  Almost  in- 
numerable candles  and  lamps  are  burning  in  all 
parts  of  the  church,  and  these  are  apportioned  to 
the  different  sects  whose  priests  or  officials  care 
for  them. 

In  going  from  one  part  to  another  I  saw  wor- 
shipers bowing  before  images  and  kissing  various 
portions  of  the  buildings.  To  all  appearances 
they  were  practising  a  species  of  idolatry  in  their 
professed  worship  of  Christ. 

The  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  is  in  the 
center  of  the  rotunda  under  the  great  dome.  This 

72 


THE    TOMB    OF    CHRIST 

is  a  building  within  a  building.  It  is  twenty-six 
feet  long  and  seventeen  and  a  half  wide.  In  front 
is  a  sort  of  antechamber  with  benches  on  either 
side,  where  Oriental  pilgrims  remove  their  shoes 
before  entering  the  place,  which  is  claimed  to  be 
the  tomb  of  Christ.  We  next  enter  what  is  called 
the  Angels'  Chapel,  where  it  is  said  the  angels 
were  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection.  A  low 
door  leads  into  the  so-called  Chapel  of  the  Holy 
Sepulcher,  which  is  six  and  a  half  feet  long  and 
six  feet  wide.  Forty-three  lamps  hang  from  the 
ceiling.  Four  of  these  belong  to  the  Copts,  and 
thirteen  each  to  the  Greeks,  Latins  and  Arme- 
nians. The  tombstone  is  covered  with  marble 
slabs  and  is  used  as  an  altar. 

The  visitor  is  shown  the  traditional  spots 
where  all  the  events  connected  with  the  crucifix- 
ion, burial,  resurrection  and  appearances  of  our 
Lord  took  place.  He  is  shown  the  hole  in  the 
rock  in  which  the  Savior's  cross  stood,  as  also 
the  places  where  stood  the  crosses  of  the  thieve:^ 
who  were  crucified  with  Christ.  He  is  shown  the 
crack  in  the  rock  which  was  made  by  the  earth- 
quake at  the  time  of  the  crucifixion.  He  is  shown 
the  alleged  site  of  the  home  of  Joseph  of  Ari- 
mathsea.    Perhaps  the  most  extravagant  claim  of 

73 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

all  is  the  one  which  locates  in  the  church  the 
tomb  of  Adam. 

On  the  roof  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
cher  is  a  street  much  like  a  city  street,  upon  which 
many  apartments  open.  The  interior  decorations 
are  profuse.  Most  of  them  are  costly  and  many 
are  grotesque.  An  urn  in  the  Greek  Cathedral 
marks  what  the  people  there  call  the  center  of 
the  world. 

This  group  of  buildings  with  the  furnishings 
and  treasures  inside  represents  an  immense  amount 
of  money.  The  square  before  the  entrance  is  filled 
with  beggars  and  pedlers  of  souvenirs. 

I  went  three  times  to  this  church.  The  last 
time  was  on  Sunday  morning  at  eight  o'clock. 
Services  were  being  carried  on  in  different  chapels. 
J  saw  a  part  of  the  service  in  the  Greek  Cathedral. 
I  waited  to  see  the  wafers  given  to  the  communi- 
cants. They  passed  before  the  officiating  priest 
and  received  the  wafer  from  him  and  at  the  same 
time  fondly  kissed  his  hand.  From  this  service 
I  went  to  a  Protestant  church,  where  I  heard  a 
good  gospel  sermon. 

For  many  years  there  has  been  serious  doubt 
about  the  location  of  the  tomb  of  Christ.  North 
of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  is  a  hill  which   has 

74 


THE    TOMB    OF    CHRIST 

come  to  be  called  Gordon's  Calvary,  after  General 
(Chinese)  Gordon,  because  he  believed  it  to  be  the 
real  Calvary  and  often  resorted  to  the  place  for 
prajer  and  meditation.  At  the  base  of  the  hill 
on  the  west  is  a  garden,  and  a  tomb  is  hewn  in 
the  rock  which  here  rises  almost  perpendicularly 
to  the  top  of  the  hill.  I  present  a  picture  of  the 
garden  tomb  which  a  member  of  our  party  took, 
and  two  of  our  party  appear  at  the  right  of  the 
door  of  the  tomb.  Many  Protestants  believe  this 
is  the  tomb  of  Christ  rather  than  the  one  under 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  If  Christ  lay 
in  either  one,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  was  in  the  one 
called  the  Garden  Tomb. 


76 


THE  JEWS'  WAILING  PLACE 

One  of  the  most  interesting  places  I  visited 
within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  was  the  Jews' 
Wailing  Place.  In  a  marked  way  it  connects  the 
distant  past  with  the  living  present  and  with  the 
future. 

There  are  about  forty-five  thousand  Jews  in 
Jerusalem.  A  small  proportion  of  these  are  na- 
tive Palestinian  Jews,  but  far  the  greater  number 
have  come  from  the  different  countries  of  Europe. 
A  few  have  come  from  America.  They  are  there 
for  religious  reasons.  Many  aged  Jews  are  there 
to  die  and  to  be  buried  in  the  soil  of  the  Holy 
Land. 

The  opportunities  for  trading  are  small  in 
Palestine,  for  that  land  is  mainly  agricultural. 
Jews  as  a  rule  do  not  seem  inclined  to  till  the 
soil,  hence  naturally  there  is  not  much  attraction 
for  Western  Jews  in  that  country.  However, 
many  Jews  have  gone  there  during  the  past  few 

70 


THE    JEWS'    WAILING    PLACE 

years,  and  are  supported  in  large  part  by  their 
brethren  in  Europe  and  America.  The  efforts  of 
wealthy  Jews  to  repeople  Palestine  with  their 
own  race  is  only  partially  successful. 

Although  the  population  of  Jerusalem  is  con- 
siderably more  than  one-half  Jewish,  the  Jewish 
quarter  within  the  walls  does  not  occupy  more 
than  one-fifth  of  the  space.  The  Mohammedan 
quarter  occupies  nearly  one-half  of  the  space  with- 
in the  walls,  jet  the  Mohammedans  number  only 
ten  thousand.  We  must  bear  in  mind,  however, 
that  about  one-half  the  population  of  Jerusalem  is 
outside  the  walls. 

The  Jews  are  not  entirely  at  home  in  Jeru- 
salem, for  it  is  under  Mohammedan  control,  and 
the  presence  of  Jews  is  simply  tolerated.  The 
Jews  do  not  find  much  favor  at  the  hands  of  most 
of  those  who  are  called  Christians.  They  are 
almost  strangers  in  their  own  country. 

The  place  toward  which  their  eyes  and  hearts 
turn,  the  Temple  Area,  is  in  the  hands  of  Moslems 
and  they  are  not  allowed  to  enter  there.  If  thpy 
had  access  to  this  sacred  spot  they  would  be  afraid 
to  walk  there  for  fear  of  treading  upon  the  "Most 
Holy  Place." 

They  are  not  welcome  in  what  the  so-called 
77 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

Christians  regard  the  very  center  of  Christendom, 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  Dr.  Leary  re- 
lates in  his  book,  "The  Real  Palestine  of  To-Day," 
the  case  of  an  Italian  who  went  into  that  church. 
He  was  walking  about  in  the  different  parts  of 
the  church  when  he  was  mistaken  for  a  Jew  by  the 
Christians  (?)  and  nearly  beaten  to  death  before 
they  discovered  their  mistake. 

There  is  one  place,  however,  in  the  city,  which 
is  to  Jews  a  most  sacred  place,  the  Wailing  Place. 
There  are  about  seventy  synagogues,  but  this  place 
belongs  to  all  Jews  alike.  It  is  situated  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  Jerusalem  by  the  southwest- 
ern boundary  of  the  temple  enclosure.  At  this 
place,  which  is  reached  by  a  narrow  alley  through 
a  wretched  part  of  the  city,  there  is  a  wall  one 
hundred  fifty-six  feet  long  and  fiftj'-nine  feet  high. 
The  nine  courses  at  the  bottom  are  constructed 
of  huge  blocks  of  stone.  One  of  these  is  sixteen 
and  a  half  feet  long  and  thirteen  feet  wide.  The 
Jews  consider  this  wall  in  some  way  connected 
with  the  ancient  temple.  It  may  have  been  a  part 
of  the  wall  which  formed  the  substructure  of  the 
temple  platform. 

The  stones  are  weather-beaten  and  gray.  The 
narrow  space  along  this  wall  is  nearly  always 
78 


JEWS      WAILING     PLACE 


A    I'AKTV     MAKINO    TOUR    AltOlT    THE    WALLS 


THE    JEWS'    WAILING    PLACE 

occupied  by  devout  Jews,  who  go  there  to  lament 
over  the  departure  of  Israel's  glory. 

I  went  there  on  a  Friday  afternoon  and  I 
found  this  noted  place  thronged  with  men  and 
women,  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  in  a  variety 
of  costumes.  Pilgrims  were  there  from  distant 
lands.  Some  were  refined  in  their  appearance, 
while  others  were  coarse.  They  stood  leaning 
against  the  walls,  some  of  them  moaning  and  weep- 
ing, others  reading  from  their  prayer-books. 

It  was  a  sad  sight  indeed.  The  faces  of  most 
of  the  Jews  were  disconsolate  in  appearance. 
Aged  men  with  their  books  sit  there  for  hours  at 
a  time.  There  is  a  superstition  that  the  stones  of 
this  wall  weep  on  each  anniversary  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem.  The  mourning  ones  both  weep 
for  the  city's  lost  glory  and  pray  for  the  coming  of 
the  Eedeemer,  not  believing  that  He  has  come 
already. 

I  was  inclined  to  linger  there  to  receive  a  deep 
impression  of  the  scene.  I  took  a  photograph  of 
the  wall  and  the  group  there  assembled.  The  ap- 
proach to  the  place  was  thronged  with  beggars,  as 
are  all  the  historic  parts  of  the  city. 

On  Friday  of  each  week  at  the  beginning  of 
the    Jewish    Sabbath    the    following    litany    is 

TO 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

chanted,  the  leader  repeating  a  line  and  the  peo- 
ple responding: 

"For  the  palace  that  lies  desolate ; 

We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 
For  the  temple  that  is  destroyed ; 

We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 
For  the  walls  that  are  overthrown; 

We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 
For  our  majesty  that  is  departed ; 

We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 
For  our  great  men  who  lie  dead ; 

We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 
For  the  precious  stones  that  are  burned ; 

We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 
For  the  priests  who  have  stumbled; 

We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn. 
For  our  kings  who  have  despised  Him; 

We  sit  in  solitude  and  mourn." 

I  quote  another  litany  used  on  this  occasion : 

"We  pray  Thee,  have  mercy  on  Zion ; 

Gather  the  children  of  Jerusalem. 
Haste,  haste,  Redeemer  of  Zion ; 

Speak  to  the  heart  of  Jerusalem. 
80 


THE    JEWS'    WAILING    PLACE 

May  beauty  and  majesty  surround  Zion ; 

Ah!  turn  Thyself  mercifully  to  Jerusalem. 
May  the  kingdom  soon  return  to  Zion ; 

Comfort  those  who  mourn  over  Jerusalem. 
May  peace  and  joy  abide  with  Zion; 

And  the  branch  (of  Jesse)  spring  up  at  Jeru- 
salem." 

I  turned  away  from  this  place  with  a  feeling 
of  gladness  that  the  Redeemer  has  come  already, 
and  myriads  have  been  saved  eternally  through 
the  atonement  He  made  not  far  from  the  spot 
where  the  Jews  were  making  their  lamentations. 


81 


XI 
A  DONKEY  RIDE 

Our  party  consisted  of  twenty-six  persons  be- 
sides our  two  guides,  and  at  the  beginning  of 
our  sight-seeing  about  Jerusalem  it  was  thought 
best  to  make  two  companies  of  us,  so  that  we 
could  more  readily  hear  the  explanations  that 
were  made  to  us  of  the  things  we  saw. 

We  were  to  make  a  circuit  of  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem ;  and  as  there  is  no  carriage  road  close 
to  the  walls  a  part  of  the  distance,  we  were  to  ride 
on  the  backs  of  donkeys.  To  most  of  us  this  was  a 
novel  experience,  for  we  had  never  before  ridden 
on  donkeys.  We  mounted  our  beasts  close  by  the 
hotel.  It  was  interesting  to  see  a  college  presi- 
dent, a  doctor,  several  ministers  and  the  women 
riding  on  those  insignificant  animals ;  the  donkey, 
however,  is  highly  respected  in  Palestine  and 
other  Eastern  countries.  He  carries  immense  bur- 
dens, for  his  size,  and  is  freight-car,  passenger- 
coach  and  sometimes  both  combined.    He  is  equal- 

82 


A    DONKEY    RIDE 

ly  at  home  in  the  city  and  in  the  country,  and 
his  unmusical  voice  is  often  heard. 

One  rather  stout  lady  of  our  party  preferred 
not  to  trust  herself  to  be  carried  by  a  donkey  on 
this  trip  and  permitted  the  group  to  go  without 
her. 

I  had  read  about  donkey-boys,  and  had  made 
up  my  mind  that  he  was  a  needless  attendant,  a 
sort  of  superfluity;  but  I  had  not  been  on  the 
back  of  my  donkey  long  before  I  found  that  the 
beast  either  did  not  understand  English  or  did 
not  propose  to  regard  what  I  said.  I  afterward 
concluded  that  it  was  both,  for  I  learned  the  Ara- 
bic expressions  used  to  start  and  stop  him,  and  he 
had  very  little  regard  for  what  I  said,  even  in 
Arabic.  I  had  reins  and  used  tbem,  but  the  donkey 
went  in  whatever  direction  he  fancied.  The 
donkey-boy,  however,  could  make  him  go  fast  or 
slowly,  as  he  chose,  but  I  found  that  even  he  had 
to  use  both  strong  language  and  a  stick  to  keep 
him  going  with  any  speed.  It  was  desirable  to 
proceed  slowly  most  of  the  way,  for  in  places  the 
path  was  rough  and  steep,  and  then  we  wished  to 
see  as  much  of  our  strange  surroundings  as  pos- 
sible. 

We  went  out  through  the  Jaffa  gate,  turned 
83 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

southward  and  soon  found  ourselves  on  a  steep, 
stony  path.  We  turned  eastward  at  the  corner 
of  the  wall  and  rode  with  the  wall  upon  our  left 
and  the  valley  of  Hinnom  upon  our  right.  We 
looked  across  the  valley  to  the  hill  of  Evil  Coun- 
sel. The  valley  is  stony  and  not  attractive. 
There  is  here  and  there  an  olive  tree. 

Near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  city  wall  is 
the  pool  of  Siloam.  This  belongs  to  the  Greeks 
and  has  been  filled  up  by  them.  At  this  point  our 
party  halted  and  several  of  us  took  photographs 
of  the  group. 

Turning  northward  we  rode  along  the  Kidron 
valley,  or  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  as  the  lower 
part  of  this  depression  is  called.  On  the  east  side 
of  the  valley  we  saw  what  is  called  the  tomb  of 
Absalom.  It  is  quite  improbable  that  this  is  the 
place  referred  to  in  2  Sam.  18 :18,  although  tradi- 
tion makes  this  the  pillar  there  mentioned.  The 
tomb  is  of  peculiar  construction.  The  bottom 
part,  twenty-one  feet  high  and  nineteen  and  a  half 
feet  square,  is  hewn  from  the  solid  rock.  Upon 
this  a  superstructure  of  large  stones  is  built, 
terminating  in  a  low  spire.  The  whole  monu- 
ment rises  to  a  height  of  forty-eight  feet  above 
the  surrounding  rubbish.     It  was  formerly  the 

S4 


A    DONKEY    RIDE 

custom  of  the  Jews  to  throw  stones  at  this  struc- 
ture in  memory  of  Absalom's  cruel  revolt  against 
his  father. 

The  west  side  of  this  valley,  extending  up  to 
the  city  walls,  is  a  Moslem  cemetery.  On  the  east 
side,  extending  far  up  the  slope,  is  a  Jewish 
burial-ground.  The  graves  are  marked  by  stone 
slabs  laid  upon  them.  One  day  when  I  was  out 
in  this  valley  I  saw  a  Jewish  funeral  procession. 
Priests  accompanied  the  corpse,  which  was  car- 
ried on  a  bier  on  the  shoulders  of  four  men.  The 
body  was  wrapped  in  cloth.  There  were  no  women 
in  the  procession. 

Crossing  to  the  east  side  of  the  valley  we  left 
our  donkeys  near  the  reputed  garden  of  Gethsem- 
ane,  which  I  shall  describe  later.  We  then  rode 
westward  along  the  north  wall  of  Jerusalem  and 
stopped  at  a  point  a  short  distance  east  of  the 
Damascus  gate.  Here  we  entered  what  are  called 
Solomon's  Quarries,  but  for  what  reason  they  are 
so  called  I  could  not  learn,  only  that  tradition 
says  Solomon  obtained  building  stone  from  this 
place.  These  quarries  extend  more  than  a  third 
of  a  mile  southward  directly  under  the  city,  and 
there  are  numerous  side  chambers  off  from  the 
main  chamber.    There  is  evidence  that  vast  quan- 

S6 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

titles  of  stone  have  been  taken  out.  There  are 
still  visible  indications  of  how  the  workmen  split 
the  rock.  Dry  wooden  wedges  were  driven  into 
crevices  in  the  rock  and  then  water  was  applied 
to  them.  The  wood  swelled  and  split  off  great 
fragments  of  rock.  The  roof  of  the  chamber  is 
supported  by  immense  stone  pillars. 

Again  mounting  our  donkeys  we  rode  to  Gor- 
don's Calvary,  which  I  have  already  mentioned. 
It  was  toward  dusk  when  we  rode  back  through 
crowded  streets  to  our  hotel.  The  donkey-boys 
tried  to  make  the  last  part  of  the  ride  interesting 
to  us  by  keeping  the  donkeys  going  at  a  good  pace. 
They  were  evidently  laying  plans  to  secure  liberal 
tips  when  we  should  finally  dismount. 

We  had  gone  entirely  around  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem  on  our  donkey-ride,  and  had  passed 
over  the  very  places  of  which  we  had  often  read 
in  the  scriptures.  We  had  viewed  the  walls, 
some  of  the  huge  stones  of  which  apparently  date 
back  to  the  time  of  David.  We  had  been  on  the 
ground  which  had  resounded  with  the  tread  of 
Israelitish,  Babylonian,  Roman,  Crusader  and 
Moslem  armies.  Jerusalem  stands  as  a  memorial 
of  God's  past  dealings  with  His  people  and  as  a 
prophecy  of  what  shall  be  in  the  future. 
86 


XII 

THE  MOUNT  OF  OLIVES 

The  most  direct  way  to  reach  the  Mount  of 
Olives  from  Jerusalem  is  to  go  out  St.  Stephen's 
gate,  which  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  city,  and 
walk  directly  eastward.  The  distance  to  the  top 
of  the  hill  is  about  a  mile. 

The  Mount  of  Olives  is  rather  a  ridge  than  a 
single  peak.  In  the  ridge  there  are  several  peaks 
rising  a  little  above  the  general  elevation  of  the 
ridge  itself.  The  most  noted  peaks  are  Scopus 
and  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Scopus  is  the  northern 
part  of  the  ridge,  and  it  was  on  this  hill  that 
Titus,  the  Eoman  general,  encamped  with  his 
army  when  he  besieged  and  captured  Jerusalem 
in  A.  D.  70.  The  highest  point  of  the  ridge  is 
2,680  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea« 

The  most  interesting  spot  about  the  base  of 
the  Mount  of  Olives  is  Gethsemane.  We  reached 
this  place  during  a  donkey-ride  which  I  have  pre- 
viously described.    To  reach  Gethsemane  we  rode 

87 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

across  the  viaduct  over  the  Kidron  valley,  past 
the  place  where  it  is  said  that  Stephen  suffered 
martyrdom  by  being  stoned.  A  chapel  is  erected 
here  to  mark  the  traditional  spot.  A  short  dis- 
tance east  of  this  is  the  place  called  Gethsemane. 
The  fact  is,  there  are  several  places  about  Jeru- 
salem that  are  called,  by  different  sects,  Gethsem- 
ane, so  we  are  by  no  means  certain  that  the  one 
we  visited  is  really  the  place. 

The  garden  is  enclosed  by  a  high  stone  wall, 
and  the  entrance  is  through  a  low  gateway  on 
the  east  side.  The  enclosure  is  an  irregular 
quadrangle  two  hundred  feet  long  and  the  same 
in  width.  It  is  owned  by  the  Franciscans,  an  or- 
der of  the  Komish  church.  It  is  tended  with  great 
care,  being  laid  out  with  walks  and  flower-beds. 

In  the  enclosure  there  are  eight  very  old  olive 
trees.  They  are  so  aged  that  the  trunks  are  par- 
tially decayed  and  are  shored  up  with  stones. 
The  claim  is  made  that  the  tree  is  still  standing 
under  which  Jesus  suffered  His  agony,  but  this 
is  very  improbable.  It  may  be  that  the  present 
trees  are  shoots  from  the  trees  that  existed  then, 
for  olive  trees  live  to  a  great  age.  The  Francis- 
cans gather  the  leaves  and  fasten  them  to  leaflets 
describing  the  garden,  and  hand  them  to  visitors, 
88 


GETHSEMANE,     HOMAX 


TRAUITIONAL     PLACE     WHERE    THE     DISCIPf.ES     WATCHEU 


THE    MOUNT    OF    OLIVES 

expecting  to  receive  a  gift  toward  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  place.  The  oil  from  the  olives  which 
grow  on  these  trees  is  much  esteemed  and  com- 
mands a  high  price.  The  stones  of  the  olives 
are  made  into  rosaries  and  sold. 

I  took  a  photograph  of  a  portion  of  the  garden 
including  an  olive  tree.  As  we  passed  out  of  the 
place  we  came  to  a  large  ledge  of  rock,  on  which, 
tradition  says,  Peter,  James  and  John  took  their 
position  to  watch  while  Jesus  prayed,  and  where 
they  repeatedly  fell  asleep.  This  place  also  I 
photographed.  It  rather  seemed  to  me  that  this 
place  was  the  one  or  close  to  the  one  where  Christ 
prayed,  "Father,  if  Thou  be  willing,  remove  this 
cup  from  me :  nevertheless  not  my  will,  but  Thine, 
be  done"  (Luke  22:42). 

When  we  made  the  ascent  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  we  went  in  carriages  out  the  Jaffa  gate, 
and  rode  northward  to  the  corner  of  the  wall  and 
turned  eastward.  We  went  on  the  road  leading 
eastward  and  northward  for  some  distance  and 
crossed  the  Kidron  valley  where  there  was  little 
depression.  Circling  southward  and  eastward  we 
ascended  the  ridge  by  an  easy  grade.  On  the  way 
we  passed  some  beautiful  country  homes. 

The  Mount  of  Olives  has  upon_it  scattered 
80 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

olive,  fig  and  carob  trees.  There  is  vegetation 
where  water  is  obtainable  for  irrigation.  In 
Christ's  time  there  was  a  much  more  luxuriant 
growth  than  now.  Along  the  lower  slope  of  the 
hill  I  saw  women  carrying  bundles  of  grain  upon 
their  heads,  which  they  had  obtained  by  gleaning 
during  the  day. 

The  Mount  of  Olives  is  largely  occupied  by 
chapels,  churches  and  other  religious  institutions 
of  different  sects,  Moslem,  as  well  as  Christian. 
Traditions  abound  as  to  places  where  scripture 
events  took  place.  One  of  the  heights  of  the  ridge 
is  called,  "Viri  Galilei,"  which  means,  "Men  of 
Galilee,"  from  a  tradition  that  the  two  angels 
addressed  the  men  of  Galilee  at  that  place  after 
Christ's  ascension.  There  is  shown  to  the  tourist 
a  stone  in  which  is  a  foot-print  of  a  man,  which 
is  said  to  be  that  of  Jesus,  as  He  ascended  to 
heaven.  This  is  unreasonable  enough,  for  the 
record  says  that  Jesus  led  His  disciples  as  far  as 
Bethany  and  was  there  taken  from  them  (Luke 
24:50). 

The  view  from  the  summit  of  the  Mount  of 

Olives  is  delightful.    To  the  west,  across  the  Kid- 

ron  valley,  one  sees  the  city  of  Jerusalem  spread 

out  before  him  on  its  four  hills.    The  gilded  dome 

fiO 


THE    MOUNT    OP    OLIVES 

of  the  Mosque  of  Omar  is  the  most  striking  build- 
ing in  the  city.  Northward  the  city  extends  some 
distance  outside  the  walls.  To  the  north  is  the 
hill  Scopus.  To  the  southwest  one  looks  across 
the  valley  of  Hinnom  to  the  hills  and  plains  of 
Kephaim.  To  the  south  are  the  hills  that  hide 
Bethlehem  from  view.  The  view  to  the  east  is 
enchanting.  One  looks  down  the  slope  upon  Beth- 
any, and  then  over  hills  and  valleys  to  the  blue 
waters  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Although  this  sea  is 
nearly  twenty  miles  away,  it  seems  so  near  that 
one  could  walk  to  it  in  an  hour.  One  can  see  the 
course  of  the  Jordan  marked  by  a  fringe  of  green 
along  its  banks.  Twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  away 
rise  the  mountains  of  Moab,  distinctly  and  beauti- 
fully blue. 

My  trip  to  this  sacred  place  is  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. On  the  Sunday  afternoon  that  I  spent  in 
Jerusalem,  toward  evening,  in  company  with  Pro- 
fessor Luckey,  I  walked  across  the  Kidron  and 
part  of  the  way  up  the  slope  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives.  As  we  went  on,  the  sacredness  of  the 
day  and  of  the  surroundings  became  more  and 
more  impressive.  At  dusk  we  entered  Jerusalem 
by  St.  Stephen's  gate  and  bade  farewell  to  the 
soil  of  the  Mount  of  Olives. 


XIII 
A  VISIT  TO  BETHLEHEM 

We  were  glad  when  the  afternoon  came  for 
our  company  to  visit  Bethlehem.  We  rode  in 
carriages,  going  out  the  Jaffa  gate  on  the  west 
side  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem  and  turned  south- 
ward. AVe  rode  along  the  wall  for  a  short  dis- 
tance and  crossed  the  valley  of  Hinnom.  The  sun 
was  warm  and  I  was  careful  to  protect  my  head 
well  from  the  heat.  I  put  a  large  white  handker- 
chief over  my  head  under  my  hat  and  let  it  hang 
down  to  cover  the  back  of  my  neck.  I  also  carried 
an  umbrella  to  keep  the  sun  off.  It  was  quite 
necessary  to  protect  the  eyes  also  from  the  bright 
sun.  The  light  there  is  very  strong  as  the  sun 
beats  down  upon  white  buildings,  walls  and  rocks. 
The  excessive  brightness  of  the  sun,  in  addition 
to  the  dust  driven  by  the  wind,  results  in  numer- 
ous cases  of  sore  eyes  and  blindness. 

As  we  were  ascending  the  hill  two  and  a  half 
milefi  from  Jerusalem,  we  came  to  a  well  ou  the 
02 


A    VISIT    TO    BETHLEHEM 

left  hand  side  of  the  road.  This  well  has  an  in- 
terest in  connection  with  Christmas,  for  there  is 
a  tradition,  or  story,  that  when  the  wise  men  came 
from  the  East  to  look  for  Jesus,  they  came  to 
this  well  after  leaving  Jerusalem  and  stopped 
here.  It  is  said  that  here  they  saw  the  star  which 
had  guided  them  from  their  distant  home,  and 
which  led  them  to  the  birthplace  of  Jesus  at  Beth- 
lehem. 

It  is  quite  certain  that  Joseph  and  Mary  trav- 
eled over  this  very  road  on  their  way  from  their 
Nazareth  home  to  the  city  of  Bethlehem,  and  they 
may  have  stopped  at  this  well  to  drink  and  to 
rest.  This  road  is  good.  It  is  macadamized  and 
is  much  used  as  there  is  a  large  amount  of  travel 
from  Jerusalem  to  Bethlehem  and  southward. 
Farther  on  we  saw  a  large  rock  by  the  road.  There 
was  a  depression  in  the  rock,  which  tradition  says 
was  made  by  Elijah  when  he  rested  there  one  night 
during  his  flight  from  Jezebel. 

On  our  way  we  passed  through  a  hilly  and 
rocky  country.  There  were  level  patches  to  be 
seen  here  and  there,  but  not  large  except  in  one 
place.  Portions  of  the  mountainsides  were  ter- 
raced and  there  were  small  areas  of  grain  and 
olive  trees.    The  country  was  much  parched,  for 

88 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

no  rain  had  fallen  since  April,  and  the  warm  sun 
had  drawn  most  of  the  moisture  from  the  ground. 
It  was  harvest  time,  and  the  wheat  and  barley 
were  being  cut  by  hand  with  sickles.  The  crop 
was  light.  It  would  seem  almost  impossible  for 
people  to  get  a  living  from  such  rocky,  barren 
soil.  In  the  fall,  winter  and  early  spring  there 
are  abundant  rains,  and  there  is  plenty  of  pasture 
for  flocks  and  herds.  We  were  told  of  instances 
of  persons'  carrying  twenty-five  cents'  worth  of 
produce  ten  miles  to  Jerusalem  to  sell  it. 

At  a  point  four  and  a  half  miles  from  Jeru- 
salem we  came  to  Rachel's  tomb.  Here  it  is  said 
that  Jacob  buried  Rachel.  The  place  is  visited 
by  Christians,  Jews  and  Mohammedans,  all  of 
whom  look  upon  it  with  a  considerable  degree  of 
reverence. 

We  soon  came  to  the  outskirts  of  the  city  of 
Bethlehem,  as  its  distance  from  Jerusalem  is  only 
about  five  miles.  The  city  lies  upon  the  northern 
slope  of  a  hill.  After  riding  a  short  distance  into 
the  town,  we  came  to  a  place  where  the  street  was 
too  narrow  to  allow  a  carriage  to  pass,  so  we 
went  the  remainder  of  the  distance  on  foot. 

The  buildings  of  the  city  are  of  stone  and  are 
mostly  old  and  not  very  attractive.    On  our  way 


RACHEL  S   TOMB 


F.j^- 


CHURCH  OF  THE  NATIVITY 


A    VISIT    TO    BETHLEHEM 

through  the  narrow  streets  we  saw  a  building  in 
course  of  construction.  The  blocks  of  stone  were 
being  carried  to  the  place  by  men.  We  saw  a 
man  carrying  on  his  back  a  stone  that  must  have 
weighed  about  five  hundred  pounds.  Four  or  five 
men  accompanied  him  and  frequently  lifted  the 
stone  while  another  man  stepped  under  the  bur- 
den. The  carrier  had  a  heavy  staff  in  one  hand 
to  steady  himself.  There  are  several  monasteries, 
convents  and  schools  in  Bethlehem.  The  popula- 
tion is  11,000  and  nearly  all  are  Christians,  that 
is,  they  belong  to  sects  that  believe  in  Christ. 
There  are  only  about  sixty  Protestants  in  the 
city. 

Bj  far  the  most  interesting  point  in  Bethle- 
hem is  that  which  is  said  to  be  the  birthplace  of 
Christ.  A  tradition  dating  from  the  second  cen- 
tury says  that  a  cavern  in  the  east  part  of  the 
city  was  the  scene  of  the  birth  of  our  Lord.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  fourth  century  Constantine,  the 
emperor  of  Kome,  who  had  embraced  Christianity, 
built  a  church  upon  this  spot,  and  it  is  almost 
certain  that  a  part  of  the  original  structure  re- 
mains. This  cavern  is  reached  by  descending  a 
flight  of  steps  on  either  side  of  the  high  altar  of 
the  church.     It  is  called  the  Chapel  of  the  Na- 

95 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

tivity.  A  silver  star  in  the  pavement  marks  the 
supposed  place  of  Christ's  birth.  Near  by  is 
shown  a  stone  manger  in  which  it  is  said  that 
Christ  was  laid.  We  are  by  no  means  sure  that 
this  is  the  exact  place  of  His  birth  nor  that  He 
was  ever  laid  in  that  particular  manger,  but  we 
do  know  that  we  were  not  far  from  the  place  of 
His  birth  and  that  He  was  laid  in  a  manger  there 
or  near  by. 

So  impressed  was  I  with  the  thought  that  I 
was  near,  and  perhaps  upon,  the  very  spot  where 
Jesus  was  born,  that  I  felt  a  sacred  awe  coming 
over  me,  and  seemed  to  have  a  clearer  sense  than 
ever  before  of  what  the  coming  of  Jesus  into  the 
world  meant. 

There  is  a  large  paved  space  in  front  of  the 
main  entrance  of  the  Church  of  the  Nativity.  A 
slender  cross  stands  upon  the  pointed  roof  of  the 
church.  I  took  a  picture  of  the  building  and  the 
open  space  in  front. 

As  we  looked  off  toward  the  east  we  saw  what 
is  known  as  the  Field  of  Boaz,  which  is  said  to  be 
the  place  where  Ruth  gleaned  (Ruth  2:1-3).  I 
wondered  where  it  was  that  the  shepherds  re- 
ceived the  announcement  of  the  birth  of  Christ. 
I  saw  the  fields  in  the  distance  that  might  have 
06 


A    VISIT    TO    BETHLEHEM 

been  occupied  by  the  shepherds  and  their  flocks 
on  that  first  Christmas  night.  I  was  sure  that 
not  far  from  the  spot  where  I  stood  the  shepherds 
heard  the  song  of  the  angels,  "Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward 
men"  (Luke  2:14). 

There  were  many  beggars  in  Bethlehem  and 
all  visitors  to  places  of  interest  were  entreated 
by  these  persons  to  give  them  "baksheesh."  Many 
people  make  a  living  by  manufacturing  souvenirs 
and  selling  them  to  tourists. 

The  ride  back  to  Jerusalem  late  in  the  after- 
noon was  delightful.  The  air  became  cool  and 
the  extreme  brightness  of  the  sun  had  given  way 
to  softer  rays.  The  few  hours  which  we  spent  in 
making  our  visit  to  Bethlehem  are  a  most  pleasant 
memory.  It  is  not  a  dream,  my  trip  to  the  place 
of  Christ's  birth,  but  a  reality,  the  memories  of 
which  are  most  vivid. 


97 


XIV 
OVER  THE  JERICHO  ROAD 

The  morning  we  were  to  make  our  journey  to 
Jericho  we  were  called  at  five  o'clock  to  prepare 
to  start  from  Jerusalem  at  six.  It  has  only  bean 
a  few  years  since  a  wagon  road  was  made  between 
the  two  cities.  Travelers  were  obliged  to  go  on 
foot  or  on  the  backs  of  horses  or  donkeys.  The 
members  of  our  party  of  twenty-six  besides  the 
conductor,  Mr.  Vickers,  and  two  guides  rode  in 
canopy-top  spring  wagons.  Each  wagon  wa.s 
drawn  by  three  horses,  driven  by  an  Arab. 

We  rode  out  the  Jaffa  gate  on  the  west  side  of 
the  city  and  rode  northward  to  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  city,  then  turned  east.  We  rode 
the  length  of  the  city  along  the  wall,  then  turned 
southward  across  the  Kidron  valley.  As  we  came 
to  the  hill  on  the  east  side  of  the  valley,  the  horses 
had  to  travel  slowly,  and  we  were  besieged  by 
throngs  of  beggars.  They  took  advantage  of  the 
necessity  we  were  under  of  going  slowly  and  kept 

98 


OVER    THE    JERICHO    ROAD 

begging  for  money  until  we  reached  the  place  in 
the  road  where  the  teams  could  travel  faster. 

We  turned  southward  and  eastward  after 
having  crossed  the  valley,  and  skirted  the  base 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  leaving  it  upon  our  left. 
We  found  an  excellent  macadamized  road  the 
first  half  of  the  way  to  Jericho,  built  and  main- 
tained by  the  Turkish  government.  Since  the 
Jordan  valley  is  about  four  thousand  feet  lower 
than  the  highest  part  of  Jerusalem,  the  descent 
is  rapid  and  we  went  down  many  steep  hills.  As 
we  wound  among  the  hills  and  looped  back  and 
forth  upon  their  sides,  we  realized  fully  the  signif- 
icance of  the  expression  used  with  reference  to  the 
man  that  fell  among  thieves,  "A  certain  man  went 
down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho."  The  distance 
is  something  like  twelve  miles,  but  one  must  drive 
eighteen  to  cover  the  distance  between  the  two 
cities.  The  hills  are  a  little  higher  than  I  ex- 
pected to  find  them. 

For  some  distance  the  valleys  and  terraced 
hillsides  are  carefully  cultivated,  but  the  growth 
is  small  except  where  there  is  irrigation,  and  there 
is  not  much  of  that.  I  saw  a  place  not  far  on  the 
road  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho  where  cattle  were 
at  work  pumping  water  for  purposes  of  irrigation. 

99 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

Three  or  four  miles  from  the  city  we  came  to 
what  is  called  the  Apostles'  Spriug  from  the  sup- 
position that  the  apostles  must  have  drunk  water 
from  it.  There  is  no  well  between  that  place  and 
the  Jordan  valley.  The  water  is  not  very  good. 
There  is  a  building  close  by  where  refreshments 
are  sold,  and  here  we  were  besought  for  "bak- 
sheesh." While  we  were  stopping  for  a  few  min- 
utes a  large  drove  of  camels  came  by.  They  did 
not  keep  to  the  road  all  the  way,  but  cut  across 
from  one  loop  to  another  to  save  distance.  A 
driver  had  a  little  trouble  with  the  camel  he  was 
riding.  He  had  dismounted  near  the  spring,  and 
as  he  went  to  mount  again,  he  ordered  the  camel 
to  kneel  down.  He  was  slow  to  obey  and  the 
driver  beat  him.  The  camel  finally  got  down,  but 
instantly  got  up  without  giving  the  driver  time 
to  mount.  This  process  was  repeated  several 
tin)es  before  the  driver  succeeded  in  mounting. 
This  was  noticeable,  because,  as  a  rule,  the  camels 
I  saw  were  very  docile.  Several  Syrian  boys  were 
about  this  place  with  slings  for  sale.  They  were 
said  to  be  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which  David 
used  in  slaying  Goliath. 

We  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  from  the 
Apostles'  Spring  before  we  came  to  a  deep  ravine, 

100 


OVER    THE    JERICHO    ROAD 

which  is  called  Cherith.  Here  we  saw  the  place 
bj  a  brook  between  steep,  high,  rocky  walls,  where 
tradition  says  that  Elijah  was  fed  by  ravens 
during  the  great  drought  in  the  land  of  Israel. 
Near  this  spot  are  caves  or  excavations  in  the 
steep  rock  walls  where  many  hermits  live.  These 
walls  seemed  to  be  four  or  five  hundred  feet  high. 
A  donkey  path  leads  along  the  ravine  about  mid- 
way between  the  top  and  the  bottom  of  the  rocky 
side.    This  is  a  difficult  place  to  reach. 

About  half  way  between  Jerusalem  and  Jeri- 
cho we  came  to  the  Khan  Hathrur,  a  Turkish 
post-office  and  rest-house,  where  refreshments  are 
sold.  This  place  is  called  the  Samaritan  Inn,  for 
tradition  says  that  this  is  the  scene  of  the  story 
of  the  good  Samaritan.  We  stopped  here  for  a 
time  to  look  over  the  curios  and  souvenirs  that 
were  for  sale  and  to  let  the  horses  rest. 

I  could  easily  believe  that  this  is  not  a  safe 
region  for  one  to  traverse  alone.  We  met  many 
Bedouins  traveling  on  foot  or  with  camels,  horses 
or  donkeys.  They  were  generally  fully  armed  with 
guns  or  knives.  In  answer  to  my  inquiries  of  the 
guides  as  to  why  they  went  armed,  I  was  told  that 
it  was  to  protect  themselves  and  their  flocks  from 
robbers  and  wolves.    It  was  also  hinted  that  the 

101 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

Bedouins  m*<!ded  to  protect  themselves  from  one 
another.  The  keeper  of  the  Khan  Hathrur  had  a 
bright  boy  about  twelve  years  old  who  was  anxious 
to  come  to  America  for  the  sake  of  the  great  op- 
portunities here.  He  will  probably  succeed  in 
making  his  way  hither  within  a  few  years. 

The  region  between  the  Samaritan  Inn  and 
Jericho  is  a  desert  indeed.  Almost  no  vegetation 
was  to  be  seen,  only  an  occasional  tuft  of  a  prickly 
plant.  The  road  was  not  so  good  as  that  between 
Jerusalem  and  the  Samaritan  Inn.  Much  of  the 
way  it  lay  over  the  bare  bed-rock,  and  was  so 
steep  in  places  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  men 
of  the  party  to  walk.  To  me  it  was  more  comfort- 
able to  walk  than  to  ride  over  the  rough  rocks 
down  the  steep  hills. 

We  reached  Jericho  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon  and  found  it  to  be  a  straggling,  unat- 
tractive little  village  of  a  few  hundred  inhabi- 
tants. Before  noon  we  rode  to  the  old  Jericho, 
about  a  mile  north,  and  saw  where  excavations 
had  been  recently  made,  uncovering  what  are  be- 
lieved to  be  the  walls  of  the  Jericho  of  Joshua's 
time.  I  was  interested  in  visiting  Elisha's  pool 
at  this  place.  It  seems  certain  that  this  is  the 
fountain  whose  bitter  waters  Elisha  miraculous- 
102 


.SAMARITAN     IN.V 


JEBICHO 


OVER    THE    JERICHO    ROAD 

ly  made  sweet.  There  is  an  abundant  flow  of 
good  water  which  supplies  the  village  of  Jericho 
and  is  used  to  some  extent  for  irrigation. 

There  are  several  hotels  in  Jericho  for  the 
convenience  of  tourists.  We  stayed  at  Hotel 
Bellevue  where  we  had  comfortable  accommoda- 
tions. The  heat  was  more  oppressive  here  than 
at  any  other  place  I  visited  in  Palestine,  though 
the  thermometer  registered  only  eighty-seven  de- 
grees in  the  hotel.  The  Jordan  valley  lies  so  low 
in  comparison  with  Jerusalem,  that  there  is  a 
great  contrast  between  the  atmospheric  condi- 
tions of  the  two  places.  The  nights  were  pleasant- 
ly cool  everywhere  I  was  in  Palestine  except 
Jericho. 


103 


XV 

IN  THE  JOKDAN  VALLEY 

A  little  to  the  northwest  from  Jericho  is  what 
is  called  the  "Hill  of  the  Temptation."  Tradition 
has  it  that  this  is  the  place  where  Jesus  under- 
went His  temptation  in  the  wilderness.  The  loca- 
tion meets  the  conditions,  as  they  are  stated  in 
the  Gospel  narratives,  but  there  are  other  places 
which  meet  them  equally  well.  Among  the  cliffs 
of  this  region  were  formerly  the  homes  of  hermits, 
and  there  still  exists  the  "Chapel  of  the  Tempta- 
tion." There  is  a  Greek  monastery  on  the  very 
top  of  this  hill. 

In  this  region  it  was  not  diflScult  for  me  to  see 
in  my  imagination  the  Israelites  as  they  marched 
across  the  bed  of  the  Jordan  and  the  valley  to 
Gilgal  toward  Jericho. 

At  half  past  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  our 
party  started  in  carriages  from  Jericho  for  the 
Jordan.  Our  route  lay  nearly  east.  After  leaving 
the  town  we  passed  through  a  region  which  had 

104 


IN    THE    JORDAN    VALLEY 

little  vegetation  and  where  there  were  no  well- 
defined  roads.  We  passed  over  dry  watercourses. 
It  was  during  the  dry  season  and  everything  was 
parched. 

To  our  right  a  few  miles  we  could  see  the  Dead 
Sea  and  in  the  distance  ahead  of  us  could  be  seen 
a  line  of  trees  and  bushes,  which  marked  the 
course  of  the  Jordan  River.  On  beyond  the  river 
a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles  arose  the  moun- 
tains of  Moab,  in  which  are  the  Pisgah  range  and 
Mount  Nebo. 

During  the  ride  of  five  miles  from  Jericho  to 
the  Jordan  we  passed  through  no  village  nor  by  a 
human  habitation.  In  the  distance  to  the  left  is 
what  is  thought  to  be  the  site  of  the  ancient  Gil- 
gal,  and  farther  on  in  the  distance  is  the  Greek 
Monastery  of  St.  John,  which,  tradition  says,  was 
built  over  the  grotto  where  John  the  Baptist 
dwelt.  Far  off  to  the  right  and  not  far  from  the 
Dead  Sea  is  the  Monastery  of  St.  Gerasimos.  The 
region  is  desolate  and  barren,  but  without  doubt, 
with  a  system  of  irrigation  in  operation,  water 
being  supplied  in  abundance  from  the  Jordan,  the 
valley  could  be  made  exceedingly  productive. 

In  about  an  hour  we  came  to  the  bank  of  the 
Jordan.  I  looked  with  feelings  of  reverence  upon 
105 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

the  historic  stream,  recalling  the  crossing  of  the 
Jordan  by  the  Israelites  and  Elijah  and  Elisha 
upon  dry  ground,  and  remembering  other  events 
connected  with  the  river.  Then  I  recalled  some 
of  the  hymns  which  have  reference  to  the  Jordan. 

The  water  is  not  clear,  but  has  a  tawny  color 
because  of  the  yellow  soil  it  carries,  washed  from 
the  banks  in  its  rapid  course.  Naaman,  the  leper, 
was  not  pleased  with  its  waters  twenty-eight  cen- 
turies ago,  when  he  was  told  to  bathe  in  them  for 
his  healing.  He  thought  Abana  and  Pharpar,  rivers 
of  Damascus,  better  than  all  the  rivers  of  Israel. 
The  water  seemed  clearer  than  I  had  expected  to 
see  it,  but  the  river  was  comparatively  low.  In 
time  of  flood  it  would  be  more  yellow. 

The  Jordan's  average  width  when  not  in  flood 
is  about  one  hundred  feet.  From  the  Sea  of  Gali- 
lee to  the  Dead  Sea  is  a  distance,  in  a  direct  line, 
of  sixty  miles  and  it  falls  six  hundred  ten  feet. 
By  its  many  windings  it  flows  one  hundred  eighty- 
five  miles  in  passing  from  the  one  sea  to  the  other. 

At  the  point  where  we  stopped  on  the  bank 
of  the  Jordan,  the  river  is  possibly  seventy-five 
feet  wide  and  twenty  feet  deep.  The  banks  are 
covered  with  trees  and  shrubs  overhanging  the 
water.     There  are  tamarisks,  willows  and  large 

lOG 


IN    THE    JORDAN    VALLEY 

poplars.  I  took  a  photograph  of  the  Jordan  at  a 
bend  of  the  river,  looking  east.  In  the  distance  is 
a  native  in  a  rowboat.  The  scene  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  when  I  took  the  picture,  was 
very  impressive,  with  the  waters  placid,  the  sun 
shining  upon  them  and  the  reflection  of  trees 
making  a  beautiful  view. 

An  interesting  event  took  place  here.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  party,  Dr.  Eamsay,  was  baptized.  He 
had  been  baptized  in  infancy  in  Ireland.  He  was 
converted  when  a  young  man  in  Minneapolis 
among  the  Volunteers,  under  the  labors  of 
Mr.  Andrick,  who  was  also  a  member  of  the  party. 
He  had  long  desired  to  be  baptized  in  the  Jordan 
and  as  the  opportunity  was  afforded,  Mr.  Andrick 
baptized  him.  A  service  consisting  of  song,  the 
reading  of  a  scripture  portion,  and  prayer  was 
held. 

As  our  time  was  limited,  we  stayed  at  this 
place  not  more  than  an  hour,  and  passed  south- 
ward a  few  miles  to  the  Dead  Sea.  I  had  ex- 
pected to  see  this  water  dingy  and  dark  in  appear- 
ance, but  found  it  blue  and  clear.  As  I  tasted  it, 
I  found  it  exceedingly  bitter  and  salt.  It  contains 
about  twenty-five  per  cent  of  salts  of  different 
kinds.  Most  of  the  men  in  our  party  sought  a  re- 
107 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

tired  place  and  went  in  bathing.  So  great  is  the 
buoyancy  of  the  water  that  one  can  not  sink.  One 
has  a  little  difficulty  in  swimming  there  because 
his  feet  are  apt  to  be  carried  out  of  the  water, 
and  he  must  keep  them  down  and  hold  his  head 
up.  One  can  lie  on  his  back  and  read.  In  fact, 
a  photograph  was  taken  of  a  tourist  floating  in 
the  water.  He  was  holding  an  umbrella  over  his 
head  with  one  hand  and  a  book  in  the  other  and 
reading.  The  salts  in  the  water  are  apt  to  irri- 
tate the  skin  of  the  bather,  but  I  experienced  no 
unpleasant  sensations  from  that  source. 

Here  we  saw  a  small,  rudely-constructed  build- 
ing in  which  drinks  and  native  food  were  sold. 
In  this  region  the  heat  is  great  and  the  atmos- 
phere oppressive.  After  an  hour's  stay  we  rode 
to  Jericho  and  spent  the  night  at  the  hotel.  This 
was  the  warmest  night  I  experienced  during  my 
stay  in  the  Orient. 

We  arose  at  three  o'clock  the  next  morning  and 
started  back  to  Jerusalem  at  four.  We  started 
thus  early  so  that  we  might  ascend  the  long,  steep 
hills  during  the  cool  part  of  the  day. 


108 


XVI 
BETHANY 

One  of  the  very  interesting  events  occurring 
during  our  absence  from  Jerusalem  on  our  Jordan 
trip  was  a  visit  to  Bethany.  It  was  on  our  way 
back  from  Jericho  that  we  stopped  at  this  place, 
whose  name  is  familiar  to  all  Bible  readers.  The 
village  lies  almost  directly  upon  the  road  between 
Jerusalem  and  Jericho. 

We  remembered  that  it  was  hither  that  Jesus 
journeyed,  not  hastily,  but  leisurely,  when  word 
came  to  Him  that  His  friend  Lazarus  was  sick, 
and  arrived  after  he  had  been  dead  four  days. 
Here  He  raised  him  from  the  dead. 

We  remembered  also  that  it  was  toward  this 
little  town  that  Jesus  wended  His  way  from  Jeru- 
salem several  times  during  the  week  before  His 
crucifixion,  in  order  to  find  a  quiet  resting-place 
in  the  home  of  His  friends,  Mary,  Martha  and 
Lazarus. 

So  fully  did  the  name  of  Lazarus  become  iden- 
100 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

tified  with  the  town  that  the  Arabic  name  is  El- 
Azarijeh,  which  literally  means  "The  Lazarus," 
and  Moslems,  as  well  as  the  so-called  Christians 
there,  regard  Lazarus  as  one  of  the  saints. 

As  we  rode  up  the  hills  from  Jericho  toward 
Jerusalem  and  came  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
city,  we  saw  to  the  north  of  the  road  the  little 
village  which  we  know  as  Bethany.  It  lies  upon 
the  southeast  slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Its 
situation  is  beautiful.  In  the  time  when  it  flour- 
ished, and  when  the  land  was  more  fruitful  than 
it  is  to-day,  it  was  called  Bethany,  which  means 
"house  of  dates."  This  was  probably  because  of 
the  date-palm  orchards  growing  there  then.  The 
region  is  still  somewhat  productive.  We  saw  sev- 
eral thrashing-floors  very  close  to  Bethany  and 
the  region  is  dotted  with  olive,  fig  and  other  trees. 

The  village  is  Moslem  and  consists  of  about 
forty  houses,  most  of  which  appear  much  dilapi- 
dated. They  are  mostly  of  stone,  while  a  few  mud 
hovels  may  be  seen.  There  is  nothing  attractive 
there  now,  only  from  the  historic  associations  of 
the  place. 

We  left  the  carriages  at  the  edge  of  the  vil- 
lage and  went  on  foot  to  the  places  of  interest, 
for  the  streets  were  too  narrow  for  carriages.  We 
110 


BETHANY 

went  first  to  the  traditional  tomb  of  Lazarus, 
which  is  close  by  the  Mohammedan  mosque.  We 
saw  nothing  at  first  to  give  us  an  idea  that  we 
were  close  to  a  tomb.  We  saw  only  a  rather 
rough  stone  wall  like  those  that  formed  the  sides 
of  houses  along  the  narrow  street. 

Our  guide  stopped  before  an  ordinary  door- 
way and  informed  us  that  this  was  the  entrance 
to  the  tomb  of  Lazarus.  As  we  looked  down  the 
steps  inside  the  door,  the  place  seemed  gloomy 
enough.  There  was  a  woman  by  the  door  with 
a  supply  of  small  candles,  which  she  furnished  to 
visitors  who  wished  to  go  down  into  the  tomb. 
Of  course  she  expected  a  fee  for  providing  them. 
One  goes  down  a  stairway  of  twenty-two  steps  to 
the  tomb  antechamber  and  by  two  long  steps  more 
to  reach  the  tomb  proper.  The  place  was  original- 
ly a  cavern  with  tombs,  but  it  has  been  walled  up 
with  masonry. 

About  ninety  feet  southwest  of  the  tomb  of 
Lazarus  is  a  ruined  tower,  called  the  Tower  of 
Lazarus.  It  is  said  that  this  is  on  the  site  of  the 
house  of  Simon  the  leper,  where  Mary  anointed 
Jesus.  A  hundred  feet  east  of  this  tower  is  the 
supposed  site  of  the  home  of  Mary  and  Martha. 

The  visitor  to  Bethany  is  an  object  of  deep 
111 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

interest  to  the  inhabitants.  They  crowd  around 
him  in  great  numbers  asking  for  "baksheesh." 
The  beggars  I  saw  there  were  as  wretched  and 
persistent  as  those  I  saw  anywhere.  They  crowded 
about  us  before  the  entrance  to  the  tomb  of  Laza- 
rus and  I  took  a  picture  of  them. 

The  traditional  sites  of  these  places  of  historic 
interest  are  somewhat  changeable.  They  have  not 
remained  the  same  during  the  centuries,  but  since 
Bethany  is  small,  I  was  satisfied  that  I  was  not 
far  from  the  spot  where  Jesus  spoke  the  memor- 
able words,  ''Lazarus,  come  forth." 

We  went  back  to  the  carriages  with  the  satis- 
faction of  having  been  where  Christ  performed 
one  of  His  most  important  miracles,  and  near  the 
place  from  which  He  ascended  to  heaven.  We 
rode  on  the  two  miles  to  Jerusalem,  thinking  of 
the  journey  of  Jesus  toward  the  city  which  He 
entered  in  triumph.  We  came  to  a  spot  where  the 
whole  of  Jerusalem  burst  upon  our  view,  as  it 
did  upon  His,  and  my  feelings  can  not  well  be 
described.  He  looked  down  upon  the  gilded  and 
profaned  temple  of  the  Lord,  while  we  looked 
down  upon  the  great  Mosque  of  Omar. 


112 


TOMl!    OF    L.VZAKLS 


^!5»-*«*v  ^»^P^ 


SOLOMON  S     POOLS 


XVII 
SOME    JERUSALEM    POOLS 

One  of  the  greatest  material  needs  of  modern 
Jerusalem  is  an  adequate  water  supply.  Water  is 
a  precious  commodity  there  in  the  long  dry  sea- 
son. Sometimes  it  is  so  scarce  that  it  is  sold  in 
the  streets.  It  is  too  scarce  to  be  used  in  street- 
sprinkling  to  any  great  extent.  At  different  times 
I  saw  water,  that  had  been  used  for  washing  or 
scrubbing,  thrown  into  the  streets  of  the  city  to 
lay  the  dust. 

The  water  used  in  the  city  is  largely  drawn 
from  cisterns,  in  which  it  is  caught  during  the 
winter  season.  There  are  a  few  large  public  reser- 
voirs, and  very  many  smaller  ones,  in  which  water 
is  saved  to  be  used  during  the  summer. 

In  ancient  times  water  was  brought  from 
springs  and  other  sources  outside  the  city,  and 
carried  by  bidden  conduits  into  the  city,  so  that 
the  inhabitants  were  able  to  withstand  a  long 
siege.  To  some  extent  water  is  now  being  brought 
113 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

from  a  distance  in  conduits  to  supply  the  needs 
of  the  city. 

It  is  diflScult  to  locate  with  any  certainty  the 
pools  of  which  we  read  in  the  Bible,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Siloam,  and  even  that  is  disputed ;  yet 
it  is  quite  certain  that  this  pool  is  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  Jerusalem.  It  is  probably  fed  from  the 
Fountain  of  the  Virgin  which  is  perhaps  eighty 
rods  north  of  it,  up  the  Kidron  valley.  A  subter- 
ranean channel  connects  the  fountain  with  the 
pool.  I  saw  many  women  and  girls  carrying  water 
from  this  fountain  in  water-pots,  and  men  were 
there  filling  their  goatskin  bottles. 

There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  loca- 
tion of  the  pool  of  Gihon.  One  view  is  that  it  is  the 
same  as  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  so  called  from 
the  tradition  that  Mary  went  there  for  water 
when  Jesus  was  a  babe;  another  view  is  that  it 
was  in  the  valley  west  of  Jerusalem,  nearly  op- 
posite the  Jaffa  gate.  Our  guide  told  us  that  the 
latter  was  the  location  of  Gihon. 

In  company  with  a  few  others  of  the  party  I 
went  early  one  morning  in  search  of  Hezekiah's 
pool.  After  much  inquiry  we  found  it.  It  is  also 
called  the  Patriarch's  pool,  and  is  situated  near 
the  intersection  of  David  street  and  the  street  of 
114 


SOME    JERUSALEM     POOLS 

the  Christians,  in  the  west  central  part  of  the 
city.  We  ascended  a  flight  of  steps  in  a  building, 
and  passing  through  it,  we  stood  on  a  balcony 
overlooking  the  pool.  It  is  merely  an  open  cistern, 
partially  hewn  from  the  solid  rock  and  partially 
constructed  of  masonry.  The  bottom  of  it  is  ten 
feet  below  the  grade  of  the  street.  It  is  two  hun- 
dred forty  feet  in  length  and  one  hundred  forty- 
four  in  width.  During  the  rainy  season  it  con- 
tains water  which  is  conducted  into  it  from  the 
roofs  of  adjoining  buildings,  and  is  also  supplied 
from  the  Mamilla  pool  <Hitside  the  walls  of  the 
city  on  the  west,  with  AAhich  it  is  connected  by 
a  conduit.  When  I  saw  it,  there  was  no  water 
in  it,  except  in  one  corner.  It  is  called  Hezekiah's 
pool  from  the  tradition  which  ascribes  its  con- 
struction to  King  Hezekiah. 

We  went  east  and  north  of  this  pool  to  visit 
the  pool  of  Bethesda.  Near  the  gate  of  St. 
Stephen  and  a  little  north  of  the  Temple  Area  is 
the  church  of  St.  Anne,  As  we  approached  the 
front  of  this  building,  we  saw  several  persons 
drawing  water  from  what  appeared  to  be  a  well ; 
but  upon  inquiry  we  found  that  the  water  came 
from  an  immense  cistern.  We  learned  that  when 
the  people  were  preparing  to  build  a  school  and 
115 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

monastery  in  connection  with  St.  Anne's  church, 
their  excavations  uncovered  a  great  reservoir,  or 
pool,  over  which  there  had  been  a  chapel.  We  de- 
scended fifteen  feet  from  the  present  grade  to 
reach  the  ancient  level.  From  this  point  twenty- 
four  steps  lead  down  to  the  level  of  the  water. 
While  we  are  not  certain  that  this  is  the  pool 
which  in  the  scriptures  is  called  Bethesda,  it  seems 
to  answer  to  the  conditions  very  well.  The  priests 
in  charge  of  the  place  appeared  to  have  no  doubt 
about  it. 

Eight  miles  south  of  Jerusalem  there  are  three 
pools,  which  are  now  known  as  Solomon's  pools. 
They  are  thus  named  from  a  fanciful  interpreta- 
tion of  Eccl.  2:6,  in  which  Solomon  speaks  of 
making  pools  for  himself.  These  pools  are  large. 
The  lowest  and  largest  one  of  the  three  is  nearly 
six  hundred  feet  long,  one  hundred  fifty  feet  wide 
and  forty-eight  feet  deep.  They  are  supplied  with 
water  from  the  hill  on  the  side  of  which  they  are 
constructed.  Conduits  were  laid  to  carry  the 
water  to  Jerusalem.  These  lines  wound  about 
among  the  hills  to  maintain  the  proper  grade,  so 
the  water  would  run  to  the  city.  The  distance 
from  the  pools  to  Jerusalem  is  eight  miles,  but  on 
account  of  their  windings,  the  length  of  the  con- 
116 


SOME    JEEUSALEM    POOLS 

duits  is  forty-seven  miles.  One  line,  however, 
reaches  the  city  in  a  length  of  twenty  miles.  These 
pools  have  been  repaired  within  a  few  years,  and 
the  conduits  have  been  put  in  order,  so  that  a 
limited  supply  of  water  is  conveyed  to  Jerusalem. 
Steps  are  being  taken  looking  toward  the  pro- 
viding of  an  adequate  water  supply  for  the  com- 
fort and  health  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  sacred 
city,  and  relief  is  hoped  for. 


117 


XVIII 
SOME  JEKUSALEM  TRADITIONS 

Jerusalem  is,  first  of  all,  a  religious  city.  It  is 
commercial  in  no  great  sense,  but  it  is  held  to  be 
a  sacred  city  by  Jews,  Christians  and  Mohamme- 
dans. There  have  come  to  be  traditions  almost 
without  number.  Some  of  these  date  back  to  the 
sixth  century  and  some  are  but  two  or  three  hun- 
dred years  old. 

When  we  consider  the  history  of  the  city,  re- 
membering that  it  was  destroyed  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar in  the  sixth  century  B.  C. ;  that  Herod  cap- 
tured the  city  in  B.  C.  37;  that  the  Romans  cap- 
tured and  destroyed  it  in  A.  D.  70,  and  that  it 
lay  in  ruins  until  130,  when  it  was  rebuilt  by 
Hadrian,  and  in  two  years  trouble  again  arose 
through  an  outbreak  of  the  Jews,  who  were  for- 
bidden to  enter  the  city ;  that  for  centuries  Jeru- 
salem was  buried  in  obscurity;  that  after  the  ac- 
ceptance of  Christianity  by  Rome  the  Jews  were 
allowed  certain  privileges  in  the  city;  that  early 

118 


SOME    JERUSALEM    TRADITIONS 

in  the  seventh  century  it  was  captured  and  par- 
tially destroyed  by  the  Persians;  that  twenty- 
three  years  later,  in  637,  it  was  taken  by  the  Mo- 
hammedans; that  in  969  it  fell  into  the  hands  of 
an  Egyptian  party ;  that  it  was  captured  in  1099 
by  the  Christians  in  the  First  Crusade;  that  it 
was  recaptured  by  the  Mohammedans  in  1187,  and 
that  it  has  since  passed  through  severe  struggles ; 
it  must  be  granted  that  little  is  definitely  known 
concerning  the  location  of  the  events  of  Bible 
times. 

We  bear  in  mind  that  Bible  events  have  been 
deeply  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  people, 
and  those  who  are  religiously  inclined  wish  to  fix 
upon  some  place  with  which  a  particular  event 
may  be  connected.  The  ignorant  and  unscrupu- 
lous would  be  inclined  to  accept  conjectures  as 
facts,  and  thus  there  arose  many  traditions  which 
are  without  any  foundation  in  fact. 

I  have  already  noted  a  few  traditions,  and  I 
may  mention  some  of  them  again,  and  I  shall  in 
addition  speak  of  others.  I  do  not  mention  them 
because  I  consider  them  probable,  but  to  show 
how  ready  certain  people  are  to  believe  unproved 
and  unreasonable  things. 

In  connection  with  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
U9 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

Sepulcher  there  is  a  chapel  erected  on  the  tradi- 
tional spot  where  Abraham  saw  the  ram  caught 
in  the  bushes  as  he  was  about  to  sacrifice  his  son 
Isaac.  Not  far  from  this  chapel  is  another  called 
the  Chapel  of  Adam  from  the  tradition  that  Adam 
was  buried  there.  Above  this  is  the  traditional 
spot  where  the  cross  stood  on  which  Christ  was 
crucified.  The  tradition  goes  on  to  declare  that 
the  blood  of  Christ  trickled  through  the  rock  be- 
neath and  came  in  contact  with  the  bones  of 
Adam  and  he  was  restored  to  life.  Outside  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  to  the  southeast  is  an  old  mul- 
berry tree,  protected  by  stones,  which  marks  the 
traditional  place  where  Isaiah,  according  to  tra- 
dition, suffered  martyrdom  by  being  sawn  asunder. 
Near  this  place  is  a  well  which  is  called  Job's 
Well.  There  is  a  tradition  that  the  holy  fire  from 
the  temple  was  hidden  in  this  well  during  the 
years  of  the  Babylonish  captivity,  and  was  dis- 
covered by  Nehemiah  on  his  coming  to  Jerusalem 
from  Babylon.  The  traditional  tomb  of  David 
was  shown  to  us  and  also  the  room  where  the  Last 
Supper  was  held. 

In  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  is  a  stone 
slab,  which  tradition  says  is  the  one  upon  which 
the  body  of  Jesus  was  laid  to  be  anointed.    The 
120 


SOME    JEKUSALEM    TRADITIONS 

stone  now  there  was  placed  in  position  in  1808. 
A  chapel  is  shown,  which  is  called  the  Prison  of 
Christ,  marking  the  spot  where  Christ  and  the 
two  thieves  were  confined,  according  to  tradition, 
before  they  were  crucified.  There  is  an  altar  with 
two  round  holes  in  it,  said  to  be  the  stocks  in 
which  the  feet  of  Jesus  were  placed.  The  Chapel 
of  Longinus  marks  a  strange  tradition.  It  is  said 
that  Longinus  was  the  Roman  soldier  who  thrust 
a  spear  into  Jesus'  side.  He  was  blind  in  one  eye, 
and  when  the  water  and  blood  gushed  forth,  some 
went  into  his  blind  eye  and  his  sight  was  restored. 
Tradition  says  that  the  stone  columns  of  the 
Chapel  of  St.  Helena  used  to  shed  tears  over  the 
death  of  Christ.  It  is  said  that  Helena  discovered 
the  true  cross  at  this  place. 

To  the  south  of  Jerusalem  across  the  valley 
of  Hinnom  is  the  Hill  of  Evil  Counsel,  on  which 
is  shown  an  olive  tree  where  tradition  says  that 
Judas  hung  himself.  In  the  slope  of  this  hill  are 
many  rock-hewn  tombs.  The  largest  of  these  is 
called  the  Apostles'  Cave  from  the  tradition  that 
the  apostles  hid  themselves  in  it  during  the  cruci- 
fixion of  Christ.  A  tomb  in  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat  is  called  the  Grotto  of  St.  James  from  the 
tradition  that  James  lay  concealed  here  without 
121 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

food  from  the  time  of  the  betrayal  of  Jesus  until 
His  resurrection. 

On  the  Mount  of  Olives  is  the  Church  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  built  there  to  mark  the  traditional 
spot  where  Jesus  taught  this  prayer  to  the 
disciples.  There  is  a  portico  extending  around  an 
open  court,  and  in  this  portico  I  saw  thirty-two 
tablets  containing  the  Lord's  prayer  in  as  many 
different  languages. 

On  Easter  day  crowds  gather  at  the  Church  of 
the  Holy  Sepulcher  to  see  what  is  claimed  to  be 
the  miracle  of  the  Holy  Fire.  All  is  excitement 
and  expectancy,  for  at  a  given  time  fire  bursts 
from  an  opening  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
cher. Multitudes  accept  the  claim  that  the  fire 
comes  from  heaven,  but  it  is  reported  that  a  wire 
reaching  upward  from  this  apartment  to  the  roof 
is  smeared  with  an  inflammable  substance  which 
is  set  on  fire  at  the  roof  and  quickly  burns  down- 
ward. 

The  House  of  St.  Veronica  marks  the  tradi- 
tional spot  where  Veronica  is  said  to  have  wiped 
the  sweat  from  the  Savior's  brow  on  the  way  to 
Calvary,  and  His  image  remained  imprinted  on  the 
handkerchief.  This  one  handkerchief  is  shown  as 
a  relic  in  several  European  churches ! 
122 


SOME    JERUSALEM     TRADITIONS 

I  will  mention  two  Mohammedan  traditions. 
One  is  that  all  will  meet  in  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat  for  judgment.  A  thin  wire  rope  will  be 
stretched  from  the  Golden  Gate  of  Jerusalem, 
which  has  been  walled  up  for  years,  across  the  val- 
ley to  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Christ  will  sit  on  the 
wall  of  the  city  and  Mohammed  will  sit  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  as  judges.  All  men  must  pass 
over  the  wire.  The  righteous  will  be  helped  quick- 
ly across  by  angels,  but  the  wicked  will  fall  into 
the  abyss.  Under  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  in  the 
Temple  Area  is  a  cavern.  Mohammed  said  that 
one  prayer  offered  there  was  better  than  a  thou- 
sand elsewhere.  Tradition  says  that  he  prayed 
there  and  was  translated  to  heaven  on  the  back 
of  his  horse.  In  the  ceiling  is  seen  the  mark  of 
his  head,  and  on  the  side  the  print  of  the  hand 
of  the  angel  that  restrained  the  Rock  from  follow- 
ing Mohammed  to  heaven. 

I  have  given  but  a  few  of  the  many  traditions 
current  about  Jerusalem.  I  mention  them  because 
they  are  curious  and  because  they  show  how  far 
people  will  go  in  superstition  when  they  lose  sight 
of  the  essence  and  power  of  true  religion.  We  may 
well  be  thankful  for  the  light  of  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  that  saves  from  superstition. 

128 


XIX 

SHOPPING  IN  JERUSALEM 

When  we  speak  of  going  shopping  in  America, 
we  think  of  large  stores  with  great  stocks  of  goods 
and  many  clerks  to  wait  upon  customers;  but 
shopping  in  Jerusalem  is  very  different  from  what 
it  is  here.  In  our  own  country  we  have  depart- 
ment stores  in  our  large  cities  where  one  can  buy 
almost  any  article  he  may  desire,  but  in  the  sacred 
city  the  stores,  or  shops,  are  very  small,  with  one 
or  two  exceptions. 

In  a  previous  section  I  have  said  that  the  city 
is  divided  into  four  principal  quarters,  the  Chris- 
tian, the  Armenian,  the  Jewish  and  the  Moham- 
medan. Each  of  these  quarters  has  its  own  shop- 
ping district.  The  shops  in  one  quarter  do  not 
differ  greatly  from  the  shops  in  another. 

We  may  picture  to  ourselves  a  narrow  street, 
eight  or  ten  feet  wide,  paved  with  stones.  Some 
of  the  streets  for  a  part  of  their  length  are  roofed 
over,  so  that  there  is  not  much  natural  light  ad- 

124 


SHOPPING    IN    JERUSALEM 

mitted.  On  each  side  of  the  street  there  are  rooms, 
possibly  ten  feet  square,  which  are  used  as  shops. 
In  these  the  shopkeepers  and  their  aFiiistants,  if 
there  are  any,  carry  on  their  trade.  Some  of 
the  shops  are  larger  than  others  and  they  vary  in 
shape. 

Naturally  we  do  not  look  for  department  stores 
here.  Each  shop  is  given  over  to  the  handling  of 
a  limited  line  of  goods  or  to  a  particular  kind  of 
w^ork.  In  the  dry-goods  section  there  are  shops 
on  each  side  of  the  street,  in  which  goods  are  piled 
up  high  on  shelves  about  the  walls.  The  counters 
generally  extend  parallel  with  the  street  and  on 
the  street  line,  so  that  the  purchaser  stands  out- 
side the  shop  to  do  his  buying.  The  whole  front 
of  the  shop  is  open  to  the  street.  To  close  the 
shop,  iron  shutters  are  pulled  down  and  locked  at 
the  bottom  with  padlocks.  This  way  of  closing 
shops  is  common  in  the  East,  and  in  many  parts 
of  Europe  the  fronts  of  shops  and  stores  are  pro- 
tected with  this  kind  of  shutter. 

I  saw  many  native  restaurants  where  foods  of 
different  kinds  were  for  sale.  Pieces  of  meat  were 
pierced  with  slender  wooden  rods,  or  spits,  and 
roasted  over  a  charcoal  fire  and  sold  to  patrons 
who  ate  them  there  with  the  native  flat  loaves  of 
125 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

bread.  On  several  mornings  I  went  through  David 
street  and  Christian  street  and  passed  provision 
shops,  where  the  wares  were  not  especially  in- 
viting. Fresh  meat  was  exposed  for  sale,  hanging 
where  the  dust  of  the  street  could  settle  upon  it, 
and  where  flies  could  have  easy  access.  I  saw  a 
shopkeeper  going  through  his  daily  work  of 
washing  the  native  cheeses  he  had  for  sale. 

These  goods,  and  especially  fruits  and  vege- 
tables, are  placed  on  the  sidewalks,  if  we  might 
call  them  sidewalks.  It  was  a  mystery  to  me  how 
many  of  these  poor  tradesmen  could  make  a  living, 
until  I  was  reminded  that  very  little  is  expended 
for  living  by  the  poor  in  that  country. 

I  saw  a  trade  being  carried  on  in  Jerusalem 
that  is  probably  the  same  practically  as  in  Bible 
times.  The  business  of  changing  money  still  exists. 
There  were  several  money-changers  sitting  at 
stands  with  coins  of  different  kinds,  prepared  to 
exchange  the  money  of  one  country  for  that  of 
another.  I  was  informed  that  they  were  inclined 
to  take  a  good  compensation  for  the  service  ren- 
dered in  their  trade.  I  had  no  occasion  to  patron- 
ize them,  as  that  service  could  be  obtained  at  the 
hotel. 

In  Palestine,  as  in  other  Oriental  countries,  a 

126 


SHOPPING    IN    JERUSALEM 

Bible  custom  still  exists  in  the  manner  of  measur- 
ing grain.  At  the  grain  market  the  buyer  takes 
the  measure  and  fills  it  with  grain,  pressing  it 
down  with  his  hands  and  shaking  it  together,  so 
that  he  can  put  more  in.  He  heaps  it  up  until 
no  more  will  stay  on  the  measure.  This  is  called 
a  measure  of  grain. 

I  went  out  on  the  street  one  day  to  buy  a  few 
lemons.  A  boy  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  was  about 
the  hotel  door,  whom  I  had  seen  there  a  number 
of  times.  He  was  bright  and  seemed  pleasant  and 
accommodating.  I  asked  him  where  I  could  buy 
some  lemons.  He  knew  and  showed  me  the  way  to 
a  street  pedler.  I  bought  the  fruit  at  a  satisfac- 
tory bargain,  but  I  had  to  give  my  guide  a  tip 
also.  It  seemed  to  me  that  an  active,  intelligent 
boy  ought  to  be  doing  better  than  to  be  getting 
money  in  that  way,  but  he  said  there  was  abso- 
lutely no  job  that  he  could  get  in  Jerusalem  and 
he  was  trying  to  get  enough  money  to  go  to 
America. 

One  is  asked  a  high  price  for  articles  and  seems 
under  the  necessity  of  bringing  the  merchant 
down  in  his  price  or  pay  much  more  than  the  ar- 
ticle is  worth.  I  wished  to  buy  a  pair  of  colored 
glasses  to  protect  my  eyes  from  the  bright  sun- 
127 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

light  of  Palestine.  The  guide  of  our  party  ofifered 
to  take  me  to  a  shop  outside  the  walls  where  I 
could  buy  the  glasses.  I  looked  at  the  goods  and 
found  the  prices  asked  were  far  higher  than  I 
thought  I  ought  to  pay,  so  selecting  the  pair  I 
wished,  I  offered  him  about  half  his  price  and  he 
accepted  it  with  little  hesitation. 

There  is  a  store  called  the  London  shop  out- 
side the  walls,  which  resembles  some  of  our  gen- 
eral stores  in  a  country  town;  but  it  had  an 
Oriental  appearance  in  the  kind  of  goods  sold. 
The  American  Colony  store  is  close  to  the  prin- 
cipal hotel  in  Jerusalem,  and  is  inside  the  walls. 
It  is  a  large  establishment  and  carries  goods  like- 
ly to  be  wanted  by  tourists.  Among  the  souvenirs 
were  beautiful  oflSce-desks  made  of  olive  wood. 
These  and  other  articles  of  furniture  appealed  to 
us,  but  their  cost  and  the  expense  of  bringing  them 
to  America  kept  us  from  buying  extensively. 

One  peculiarity  of  Oriental  shops  is  that  a 
siesta,  or  rest  period,  is  taken  in  the  middle  of  the 
day.  This  custom  prevails  also  to  some  extent  in 
Europe.  It  is  a  little  annoying  to  an  active  Ameri- 
can, who  wishes  to  do  shopping,  to  find  business 
places  closed  for  two  hours  in  the  middle  of  the 
day. 

128 


SHOPPING    IN    JERUSALEM 

It  is  interesting,  as  well  as  annoying,  to  be 
solicited  to  go  into  souvenir  shops  by  the  keepers 
or  their  agents.  As  we  went  to  and  from  our 
hotel  we  passed  several  shops  of  this  kind.  The 
keepers  well  knew  that  we  were  tourists  and  they 
begged  us  to  go  in  and  look  at  their'  goods,  and 
told  us  over  and  over  that  their  goods  were  "very 
cheap." 

As  we  passed  through  the  streets  on  Sunday, 
we  saw  that  many  of  the  shops  were  closed  in 
the  Christian  quarter,  but  aside  from  that  there 
was  little  evidence  of  Sabbath-keeping.  Friday 
is  the  sacred  day  of  the  Mohammedans  and  Satur- 
day is  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  hence  business  is  going 
forward  to  a  great  extent  on  every  day  of  the 
week. 


129 


XX. 

CHRISTIANIZING  JERUSALEM 

It  seems  rather  strange  to  think  of  the  Chris- 
tianizing of  Jerusalem,  the  great  religious  center 
of  the  world;  but  we  read  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke 
that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  to  begin  at 
Jerusalem,  and  in  the  Acts,  that  the  apostles  were 
to  be  witnesses  first  in  Jerusalem.  In  the  time  of 
our  Lord  there  was  a  wide  difference  between  the 
formal,  empty,  hypocritical  religion  of  the  mass  of 
the  Jews  and  the  true,  spiritual  religion  that  Je- 
sus taught. 

I  realized  as  I  went  from  place  to  place  in  and 
around  Jerusalem  that,  in  an  important  sense,  I 
was  treading  upon  holy  ground,  for  I  was  in  the 
city  where  great  moral  and  religious  events  had 
occurred.  The  very  atmosphere  seemed  to  whis- 
per of  religion.  The  buildings  devoted  to  religious 
uses  were  everywhere, — churches,  convents,  mon- 
asteries, shrines,  mosques,  synagogues  and  schools. 
Yet  the  religion  was  so  formal,  so  empty,  so  cor- 


CHRISTIANIZING    JERUSALEM 

rupt,  that  the  true  Christian  naturally  turned 
from  it  with  pity  for  the  people  who  were  in  spiri- 
tual darkness. 

One  passes  great  numbers  of  persons  of  relig- 
ious orders  in  going  through  the  city.  There  are 
Mohammedans  with  white  turbans  upon  their 
heads.  The  white  turban  is  worn  by  those  who 
lay  claim  to  peculiar  sanctity.  Occasionally  a 
Mohammedan  is  seen  who  declares  by  wearing  a 
yellow  turban  that  he  has  made  a  visit  to  Mecca, 
the  most  sacred  spot  to  the  Moslem  world.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Roman  Catholic  institutions  one 
sees  large  numbers  of  priests  of  different  orders, 
wearing  long  robes  and  many  of  them  with  low- 
crowned,  broad-brimmed,  black  beaver  hats. 
About  Greek  institutions  are  many  priests  with 
full  beards,  wearing  tall,  black,  rimless  hats  with 
flat  tops. 

The  Mohammedan  element  in  Jerusalem,  as 
elsewhere,  needs  to  be  Christianized.  There  is  a 
pathetic  sadness  generally  upon  the  faces  of  this 
class  of  people.  Their  lives  are  corrupt.  Their 
hearts  are  unchanged.  Their  religion  does  not 
affect  their  conduct  to  make  it  right. 

The  Jewish  world  needs  to  be  Christianized. 
The  rejecters  of  Jesus  Christ  have  little  to  hope 
131 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

for.  They  gather  at  their  Wailing  Place  and  la- 
ment the  distresses  that  have  come  to  their  sacred 
city  and  to  their  race.  They  see  their  holy  place 
defiled  and  profaned  by  the  unhallowed  feet  of 
the  Moslems.  They  are  confronted  by  the  garb 
and  ceremonies  of  those  who  believe  that  Christ 
has  come.  They  take  some  comfort  in  considering 
that  they  are  living  where  their  ancient  fathers 
lived  and  are  to  be  buried  in  the  sacred  soil  of 
Judea. 

The  professedly  Christian  sects  need  to  be 
Christianized.  The  Greek,  the  Latin,  the  Coptic 
and  the  Armenian  monasteries  are  full  of  relig- 
ionists, who  make  much  of  ceremony  and  little  of 
spirituality.  They  have  an  idolatry  that  is  de- 
structive of  true  religion.  They  seem  to  worship 
sacred  places  and  to  adore  images  and  relics.  The 
Romish  priests  have  elaborate  ceremonies  at  the 
dififerent  stations  along  the  "Via  Dolorosa,"  or  sor- 
rowful way,  the  way  over  which  Jesus,  according 
to  tradition,  passed  in  going  to  Calvary.  The 
Greeks  have  imposing  services  on  the  days  before 
Easter  and  other  occasions  which  they  consider 
sacred.  On  Holy  Thursday  the  patriarch  of  Jeru- 
salem washes  the  feet  of  twelve  high  ecclesiastical 
ofiQcials  with  great  ceremony. 
132 


CHRISTIANIZING    JERUSALEM 

Because  of  the  strength  of  their  religious  prej- 
udices, the  people  of  Jerusalem  are  not  easy  to 
reach  with  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Their  multi- 
plicity of  religious  forms  and  their  devotion  to  the 
religion  of  their  fathers  result  in  their  full  de- 
pendence upon  what  they  have,  and  they  do  not 
accept  the  salvation  of  Christ.  Their  faith  is  in 
forms  of  religion.  Evangelical  repentance  and 
saving  faith  are  not  evident.  I  was  moved  with 
pity  for  these  classes  of  people  as  I  saw  them  bow- 
ing down  to  images  and  kissing  objects,  which  to 
them  were  sacred. 

There  are  only  about  one  thousand  six  hun- 
dred Protestant  Christians  in  Jerusalem.  There 
is  an  English  Protestant  community  under  the  di- 
rection and  support  of  the  Church  of  England. 
They  have  two  or  three  churches  and  schools  for 
boys  and  girls.  Under  the  care  of  the  English  is 
an  ophthalmic  hospital.  This  institution  is  greatly 
needed  in  Jerusalem  where  diseases  of  the  eye  are 
very  prevalent.  This  hospital  is  a  short  distance 
outside  the  city  walls  on  the  road  to  Bethlehem. 
The  German  Evangelical  people  have  a  church, 
hospitals,  schools  and  an  orphanage  for  boys. 

The  most  refreshing  place,  religiously,  that  I 
found  in  Jerusalem  was  the  American  church  in 

133 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

the  north  part  of  the  section  of  the  city  outside 
the  walls.  This  is  the  headquarters  of  the  Chris- 
tian and  Missionary  Alliance  in  Palestine.  They 
have  a  neat  church,  and  they  have  schools  for 
Jews  and  Arabs.  The  preaching  I  heard  the  Sun- 
day morning  I  was  there  was  strongly  evangelical 
and  was  spiritual.  A  most  interesting  and  suc- 
cessful Sundaj^-school  is  maintained. 

I  wish  to  quote  short  parts  of  the  annual  re- 
port of  the  Palestine  mission  of  the  Christian  and 
Missionary  Alliance.  The  first  is  in  regard  to  the 
Hebron  portion  of  their  work.  "Hebron  is  still 
one  of  the  most  fanatical  cities  in  the  Moslem 
world.  Miss  Butterfield  and  the  native  helpers 
worked  faithfully  in  the  city  during  the  first  half 
of  the  year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Van  Guysling  have 
been  stationed  there  with  Muallim  Ibrahim  Ja- 
meel  and  Miss  Liza  Karkar  who  was  graduated 
this  year  from  our  training  class.  They  have  suc- 
ceeded in  regathering  a  small  day  school,  chiefly 
of  Jewish  girls.  The  night  school  for  young  men 
continues.  The  district  includes  fifty  villages. 
Eiding  in  all  kinds  of  weather  over  rugged  moun- 
tain trails,  sleeping  in  native  huts  and  eating  na- 
tive food  are  not  gratifying  to  the  flesh,  but  it  is 
the  only  way  these  sons  of  Ishmael  can  be  given 
134 


CHRISTIANIZING    JERUSALEM 

the  gospel.  Those  who  do  it  need  prayer,  espe- 
cially in  these  troublous  times.  From  Hebron  and 
Beersheba  we  are  attempting  to  evangelize  all  the 
villages  of  Southern  Palestine,  except  a  few  adja- 
cent to  Gaza  which  are  under  the  care  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society." 

A  few  sentences  are  quoted  from  the  report  on 
the  school  work  in  Jerusalem.  "There  are  about 
fifty  children  enrolled,  all  in  the  primary  classes. 
The  Bible  is  an  important  part  of  the  curriculum, 
and  all  of  the  pupils  attend  Sunday-school .... 
Nearly  all  of  the  girls  and  most  of  the  older  boys 
are  converted.  Some  have  been  baptized  and  oth- 
ers are  in  the  communicants'  class.  The  work  is 
essential  as  a  recruiting  ground  for  native  work- 
ers." 

I  saw  these  boys  and  girls  in  the  church  on 
Sunday  morning  and  a  brighter  and  better  looking 
company  one  seldom  sees.  It  is  an  inspiration  to 
see  young  people  blessedly  saved  out  of  the  super- 
stition and  degradation  that  prevail  in  that  land. 
The  work  of  Christianizing  Jerusalem  is  going  for- 
ward  slowly. 


135 


XXI 
FKOM  JEKUSALEM  TO  SHECHEM 

The  time  came  when  I  must  bid  farewell  to 
the  sacred  city  of  Jerusalem,  where  I  had  spent 
several  days  full  of  intensest  interest. 

The  members  of  our  party  had  been  notified 
that  we  were  to  start  at  six  o'clock  on  Monday 
morning,  June  9,  for  our  trip  northward.  As  I 
had  correspondence  to  attend  to  which  I  had  not 
finished  on  Saturday  night,  I  arose  at  about  three 
o'clock  to  get  my  mail  ready  and  be  prepared  for 
the  journey. 

A  few  minutes  after  six  we  rode  out  the 
Jaffa  gate  in  large,  three-seated,  canopy-top,  spring 
wagons,  each  wagon  being  drawn  by  three  horses. 
A  provision  wagon  accompanied  us  with  attend- 
ants to  provide  lunches  for  the  party  Monday  and 
Tuesday  noons. 

We  turned  northward  and  rode  to  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  then 
turned  eastward  to  the  Damascus  gate.  The 
136 


FIIOM    JERUSALEM    TO    SHECHEM 

large  open  spae«  outside  this  gate  is  a  busy  place 
in  the  early  morning.  There  are  many  camels  and 
donkeys  here,  attended  by  their  drivers,  for  hire 
for  the  day.  At  this  gate  we  turned  northward  on 
the  Damascus  road.    We  passed  near  Scopus. 

I  realized  that  I  was  soon  to  catch  my  final 
view  of  the  city,  and  turned  persistently  to  see  as 
much  as  I  was  able  of  the  sacred  place.  The 
Temple  Area,  with  the  glittering  dome  of  the 
Mosque  of  Omar  and  with  the  Mosque  of  Aksa^ 
was  in  sight,  and  the  imposing  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulcher,  as  well  as  the  other  buildings  of 
the  city  within  and  without  the  walls;  and  I  could 
see  the  valleys  and  mountains  about  Jerusalem, 
and  all  were  interesting,  but  my  eyes  lingered 
upon  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  I  carried  with  me 
the  deep  impression  made  upon  my  mind  and 
heart  by  Calvary  and  the  Garden  Tomb. 

As  our  conductor  announced  to  us  that  we 
were  near  the  place  where  we  should  have  our  last 
view  of  Jerusalem,  we  turned  and  looked  until  we 
descended  the  hill  that  hid  the  city  from  our  eyes. 
Although  we  bade  farewell  to  Jerusalem,  there 
remained  enough  places  of  interest  in  Palestine  to 
engage  our  attention  for  the  period  that  was  before 
us  in  that  land. 

137 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

The  early  morning  air  was  delightfully  cool 
and  invigorating.  An  overcoat  was  not  in  the 
least  uncomfortable,  but  in  an  hour  or  two  the 
gun's  rays  were  warm.  After  riding  three  or  four 
miles  we  came  to  the  location  of  ancient  Mizpeh 
and  a  little  further  on  was  Ramah,  which  was 
the  home  of  Samuel.  The  country  is  generally  less 
rugged  and  more  productive  than  that  to  the  east 
and  south  of  Jerusalem,  yet  we  passed  through  a 
succession  of  valleys  and  rode  over  some  rather 
steep  hills. 

At  El-Bireh,  ancient  Beeroth,  we  halted  and 
ascended  to  the  roof  of  a  building  to  secure  a  view 
of  the  country.  To  the  northeast  of  us  we  saw 
Beitin,  which  is  the  Bethel  of  the  scriptures.  A 
few  miles  to  the  west  of  us,  but  out  of  sight,  was 
the  place  which  is  thought  to  be  Emmaus.  About 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  Beeroth  we  saw 
a  Christian  village,  Ramallah,  which  has  a  popula- 
tion of  five  thousand.  The  Friends  have  a  mission 
in  the  village.  Mrs.  Pemberton  and  her  son  of 
our  party  had  visited  acquaintances  there,  and 
the  mission  people  earnestly  desired  that  our  en- 
tire party  should  visit  the  mission,  but  time  would 
not  admit  of  the  stop.  Some  came  down  from  the 
mission  to  greet  us.  There  is  a  tradition  that  El- 
138 


FROM  JERUSALEM  TO  SHECHEM 

Bireh  is  the  place  where  Joseph  and  Mary  first 
discovered  the  absence  of  Jesus  from  their  com- 
pany when  returning  to  Nazareth  from  the  Pass- 
over at  Jerusalem. 

A  little  before  noon  we  came  to  El-Lubban,  the 
ancient  Lebonah,  which  lies  in  a  valley.  It  is  on 
the  boundary  between  Judea  and  Samaria.  Close 
by  the  road  is  a  fine  spring  of  water,  where  sheep, 
goats  and  cattle  were  drinking.  Here  is  an  or- 
chard of  fig  and  orange  trees.  The  provision  wagon 
had  preceded  us  and  our  lunch  was  ready  for  us 
under  the  trees  when  we  arrived.  The  table  cloth 
was  spread  on  the  ground  and  we  greatly  enjoyed 
the  outing  amid  the  strange  surroundings. 

After  a  halt  of  two  hours  we  went  on  our  way. 
Along  the  road  here  and  there  we  saw  small  sys- 
tems of  irrigation.  The  water  is  pumped  from 
springs  or  creeks  to  a  level  sufficiently  high  to 
lead  the  water  over  the  fields  to  be  irrigated.  We 
soon  came  in  sight  of  Mount  Gerizim  and  Mount 
Ebal,  the  mountains  of  blessing  and  cursing  men- 
tioned in  Deut.  11:29  and  Josh.  8:33.  Far  to 
the  north  is  seen  Great  Hermon. 

Soon  after  passing  the  northeast  side  of  Mount 
Gerizim  we  came  to  Jacob's  Well,  which  is  a  few 
rods  to  the  east  of  the  road.     The  place  is  con 
139 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

trolled  by  the  Greek  church.  A  chapel  is  built 
over  the  well.  It  was  the  time  of  service  when  we 
arrived,  and  we  were  obliged  to  wait  a  while  be- 
fore we  could  enter.  When  we  went  in,  we  found 
a  few  priests,  who  had  conducted  the  service,  but 
there  was  no  congregation.  The  well  is  said  to 
have  been  at  one  time  two  hundred  forty  feet  deep, 
but,  owing  to  the  accumulation  of  rubbish,  it  is 
now  not  more  than  seventy-five.  The  priest  in  at- 
tendance let  down  a  bucket  and  drew  up  some  of 
the  water,  which  was  offered  to  the  visitors. 

It  seems  quite  reasonable  that  this  is  the  well 
at  which  Jesus  preached  to  the  Samaritan  woman. 
While  we  were  waiting  to  enter  the  chapel  of 
Jacob's  Well,  we  observed  that  a  great  church  was 
being  erected  over  the  present  chapel.  Men  and 
women  were  working  on  it.  Women  were  carry- 
ing mortar  up  ladders  for  the  men  who  were  lay- 
ing the  stone. 

A  half  mile  north  of  Jacob's  Well  is  what  is 
called  Joseph's  Tomb.  It  seems  almost  certain 
that  it  is  in  the  "parcel  of  ground"  which  Jacob 
bought  (Gen.  33 :  19 ;  Josh.  24 :  32).  The  Moslems 
built  the  tomb  and  control  it. 

A  short  ride  from  Jacob's  Well,  less  than  two 
miles,  brought  us  to  Shechem,  called  also  in  the 
140 


FKOM    JEKUSALEM    TO    SHECHEM 

Bible  Sichem  and  Sychar.  It  was  called  Neapolis, 
new  city,  after  the  country  was  conquered  by  the 
Romans  in  67  A.  D.  Its  present  name,  Nablus, 
is  a  corruption  of  Neapolis. 

We  had  ridden  thirty-four  miles  from  Jerusa- 
lem. There  were  many  olive  and  fig  trees  along 
the  way.  We  saw  fields  of  wheat,  some  large  and 
some  small.  From  Jacob's  Well  into  Nablus  we 
rode  through  a  beautiful  and  fertile  valley. 

Nablus  is  interesting  as  to  its  location.  It  lies 
between  Mount  Gerizim  and  Mount  Ebal.  There 
is  a  ridge  extending  between  the  two  mountains, 
from  which  the  ancient  city  took  its  name,  since 
Shechem  means  shoulder,  the  city  being  built 
upon  a  ridge,  or  shoulder. 

The  population  is  about  25,000,  Nablus  being 
second  only  to  Jerusalem,  among  the  cities  of 
Palestine,  in  the  number  of  its  inhabitants.  The 
people  are  mostly  Moslems,  who  maintain  eight 
large  mosques  and  two  schools.  There  are  seven 
hundred  Greek  Christians  and  a  few  Latins.  The 
Protestant  community  is  small,  numbering  one 
hundred  fifty,  but  they  maintain  a  church,  a 
school  and  a  hospital. 

Our  party  was  divided  into  two  companies  for 
the  night,  as  the  hotel  did  not  have  accommoda- 
141 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

tions  for  us  all.  Ten  of  our  number  stayed  at  a 
Latin  convent  where  tourists  are  cared  for.  Those 
who  lodged  there  had  no  complaint  to  make  about 
the  food,  but  their  accommodations  for  lodging 
were  not  altogether  comfortable.  It  is  a  task  to 
keep  free  from  insects  in  that  country.  The  rest 
of  our  party  stayed  at  the  Hotel  Nablus,  which 
belongs  to  the  Hamburg- American  steamship  line, 
and  our  accommodations  were  excellent. 

Nablus  is  in  a  rich  and  beautiful  region.  The 
soil  is  productive.  Much  wheat  is  raised  outside 
of  the  city,  and  olive,  fig  and  other  kinds  of  fruit 
trees  tlourish.  There  is  an  abundant  supply  of 
water.  In  this  respect  it  differs  greatly  from  Je- 
rusalem. There  are  said  to  be  twenty-two  springs 
of  water  about  the  city  and  few  of  them  are  dry 
in  the  summer.  Systems  of  irrigation  utilize  the 
water  and  add  greatly  to  the  productiveness  of 
the  region.  There  are  more  than  a  dozen  manu- 
factories of  olive-oil  soap. 

Shechem  is  most  interesting  for  its  historical 
associations.  It  was  here  that  Abraham  wor- 
shiped by  the  oak  of  Moreh.  The  Samaritans 
claim  that  Mount  Moriah,  where  Abraham  went  to 
offer  up  Isaac,  was  here  and  not  at  Jerusalem, 
and  many  scholars  are  inclined  to  agree  with 
142 


FKOM  JERUSALEM  TO  SHECHEM 

them.  Jacob  lived  at  Shechem  and  Joseph  was 
buried  close  by.  The  law  was  read  to  assembled 
Israel  here.  The  people  were  in  the  amphitheater 
between  the  two  mountains  and  heard  the  curses 
read  from  Mount  Ebal  and  the  blessings  from 
Mount  Gerizim.  Eehoboam  was  made  king  at 
Shechem,  and  Jeroboam,  who  became  king  of  the 
seceding  ten  tribes,  had  his  capital  here. 

Present-day  interest  in  Nablus  centers  in  the 
Samaritans.  Shortly  after  our  arrival  in  Nablus 
we  visited  the  Samaritan  synagogue.  Our  guide 
conducted  us  through  a  maze  of  dirty  and  ill- 
smelling  streets,  alleys  and  covered  passageways 
to  the  southwest  portion  of  the  city,  which  consti- 
tutes the  Samaritan  quarter.  We  were  admitted 
to  the  synagogue,  which  is  a  small  room,  but  it  is 
a  most  sacred  spot  to  the  Samaritans.  The  high 
priest  Jacob  was  there  and  his  son  and  his  grand- 
son.   The  office  of  high  priest  is  hereditary. 

In  the  synagogue  is  an  ancient  copy  of  the 
Samaritan  Pentateuch.  It  is  most  carefully  and 
sacredly  guarded.  The  high  priest  showed  it  to 
us.  It  is  kept  wrapped  in  green  Venetian  cloth. 
The  claim  is  made  that  this  copy  was  transcribed 
by  a  grandson  or  a  great-grandson  of  Aaron,  but 
this  claim  is  generally  discredited,  and  it  is 
143 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

thought  that  it  could  not  have  been  made  earlier 
than  the  beginning  of  the;  Christian  era.  We  pur- 
chased a  picture  of  the  roll  and  the  high  priest 
and  have  reproduced  it. 

The  only  part  of  the  scriptures  which  the  Sa- 
maritans accept  is  the  Pentateuch.  After  the  cap- 
tivity of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  by  the  Assyrians, 
pagans  were  brought  in  to  people  the  country,  and 
then  followed  a  mixture  of  races  and  religions. 
The  Jews  despised  the  Samaritans  and  the  Samari- 
tans held  themselves  aloof  from  the  Jews. 

The  Samaritans  have  remained  a  separate  peo- 
ple since  the  period  of  the  Jewish  captivity.  They 
observe  the  great  Mosaic  feasts  upon  Mount  Geri- 
zim.  This  mountain  is  to  them  a  very  sacred 
place.  It  does  not  belong  to  them,  but  they  are 
permitted  to  celebrate  their  religious  feasts  there. 
One  of  the  hopes  which  they  long  to  realize  is  the 
possession  of  Mount  Gerizim. 

The  Samaritans  do  not  intermarry  with  others. 
Their  children  are  few  in  number,  and  it  seems 
as  if  they  can  not  exist  as  a  people  many  genera- 
tions more.  There  are  now  less  than  two  hundred 
of  them.  They  are  very  poor  and  are  scarcely 
able  to  obtain  food  and  clothing  sufficient  for  their 
comfort.  Philanthropic  persons  in  America  are 
144 


SAilAlUTAN     1110  11     I'lUEST     AND    SCKOLL 


FROM    JERUSALEM    TO    SHECHEM 

making  an  effort  to  assist  them  to  a  better  way  of 
living  and  thinking.  It  may  be  added  that  they 
are  looking  for  the  Messiah  to  come  six  thousand 
years  after  the  creation  of  the  world. 

The  fact  of  the  existence  of  this  people  with 
their  faithful  adherence  to  the  Samaritan  Penta- 
teuch, which  differs  comparatively  little  from  the 
Jewish  Pentateuch,  and  with  their  adherence  to 
the  Mosaic  feasts,  and  their  separateness  from 
other  peoples,  constitute  a  strong  proof  of  the 
truthfulness  of  scripture  history. 

I  observed  in  Nablus  a  greater  disrespect  for 
tourists  than  I  saw  at  any  other  point  on  my 
whole  journey.  The  boys  and  girls  of  the  city 
jeered  as  we  passed  along.  The  boys  threw  stones 
toward  us,  but  seemed  to  fear  to  throw  at  us.  It 
is  said  that  it  is  dangerous  for  tourists  to  be  out 
at  night  without  special  protection.  There  seemed 
to  be  a  spirit  of  hostility  to  Christianity.  In  spite 
of  this  I  was  intensely  interested  in  the  place  and 
in  the  people. 


145 


XXII 
FBOM  SHECHEM  TO  NAZARETH 

I  spent  a  comfortable  night  at  Hotel  Nablns. 
The  room  was  large  and  airy  and  the  night  was 
cool.  Our  company  was  to  continue  the  north- 
ward journey  at  six  o'clock,  so  we  were  astir 
early.  While  we  were  loading  ourselves  and  bag- 
gage into  the  wagons,  we  were  persistently  so- 
licited by  the  Samaritans  to  buy  postcards  that 
pictured  their  high  priest  and  their  Pentateuch. 
They  had  also  for  sale  miniature  representations 
of  the  sacred  roll,  made  of  tin,  and  they  were  sell- 
ing a  pamphlet  in  English,  giving  the  history  of 
the  Samaritans. 

We  rode  in  the  same  wagons  that  had  carried 
us  from  Jerusalem,  and  they  were  to  be  our  con- 
veyances all  the  way  to  Tiberias.  Our  route  lay 
in  a  northwesterly  direction,  but  we  were  going 
now  in  one  direction  and  then  in  another,  as  the 
road  wound  about  among  the  hills.  We  were 
going  over  the  route  that  had  been  used  for  cen- 

146 


FROM  SHECHEM  TO  NAZARETH 

turies  by  those  who  traveled  between  the  North 
and  the  South. 

In  an  hour  and  a  half  we  reached  one  of  the 
most  historic  parts  of  northern  Palestine,  the  site 
of  ancient  Samaria.  We  emerged  into  an  attractive 
valley  among  the  mountains,  and  before  us  ap- 
peared the  beautiful  hill  of  Samaria.  It  is  a 
round  hill  rising  three  hundred  thirty  feet  above 
the  valley  and  1455  feet  above  the  sea,  not  rugged 
and  rocky,  but  rising  in  rather  steep  slopes  from 
the  valley.  It  is  about  four  miles  around  the  base 
of  the  hill. 

Our  wagons  halted  on  the  west  side  of  the  hill 
and  we  were  given  the  privilege  of  walking  to  the 
summit.  Most  of  the  party  eagerly  climbed  the 
steep  path  toward  the  crown  of  the  hill.  The 
air  was  cool  when  we  left  Shechem,  or  Nablus, 
but  the  rays  of  the  sun  had  become  hot,  and  it 
was  not  particularly  easy  to  make  the  ascent. 
There  were  two  or  three  natives  with  donkeys  for 
hire,  and  they  were  very  persistent  in  their  efforts 
to  induce  us  to  ride  up  the  hill.  However,  we  all 
preferred  to  walk.  A  young  native  had  what  ap- 
peared to  be  ancient  coins  for  sale  and  was  stren- 
uous in  his  efforts  to  sell  them  to  us.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  coins  were  found  in  the  soil  of 
147 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

the  hill  or  among  the  many  ruins  about  the  lo- 
cality. 

Toward  the  summit,  perhaps  three-fourths  of 
the  way  up,  we  came  to  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
gates  of  the  city.  I  took  a  photograph  of  these 
ruins,  looking  down  upon  them  from  the  east. 
They  were  massive  and  must  have  been  imposing 
before  they  fell  into  decay.  It  is  scarcely  possible 
to  tell  who  were  the  builders  of  these  gates,  for 
different  peoples  have  been  in  possession  of  this 
hill  at  different  times. 

We  pressed  onward  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and 
at  the  summit  we  walked  over  plowed  ground, 
where  once  stood  the  magnificent  city  of  Samaria. 
God's  word  is  strikingly  fulfilled  in  this  place.  It 
was  once  a  "crown  of  pride,"  but  the  Lord  said 
by  the  prophet  Micah,  "I  will  make  Samaria  as 
an  heap  of  the  field,  and  as  plantings  of  a  vine- 
yard: and  I  will  pour  down  the  stones  thereof 
into  the  vallej',  and  1  will  discover  the  founda- 
tions thereof"  (1:6).  It  would  be  difficult  to 
reconcile  Samaria's  ancient  magnificence  with  its 
present  desolation  but  for  God's  word  which  gives 
the  history  of  the  city  and  the  reasons  for  its 
overthrow.  The  ruins  declare  what  the  city  was 
once,  and  the  present  desolation  is  clearly  seen. 

148 


RUI>'S   OF  GATES,    lULL   OF  SAMARIA 


h  iL^i^.1-  't 


iU. 


-■^■'■^ 


Is^^ 


V  v^lot:->- 


RUINS     OF     TFMrLi;,      HILL     OF     SA.MAKlA 


FROM  SHECHEM  TO  NAZARETH 

Excavations  have  revealed  the  remains  of  an 
immense  Roman  structure  which  may  have  been 
a  temple.  A  Roman  altar  has  been  found  and  a 
great  statue  of  Augustus.  There  have  been  dis- 
covered under  these  ruins,  three  other  sets  of 
ruins,  the  oldest  of  which  probably  reaches  back 
to  the  time  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  A  temple  of 
Baal  probably  once  stood  here.  I  show  a  picture 
of  the  ruins  of  a  huge  stairway,  which  may  have 
been  a  part  of  a  temple. 

Extending  about  the  hill  near  the  summit  are 
the  ruins  of  a  colonnade  twenty  yards  wide  and  a 
mile  long.  Many  of  the  columns  are  standing  to- 
day in  the  cultivated  fields.  They  are  sixteen  feet 
high.  The  capitals  are  gone.  Many  of  the  columns 
lie  where  they  have  fallen.  Some  have  rolled  a 
part  of  the  way  down  the  hill.  We  walked  over 
the  top  of  the  hill  and  came  to  the  ruins  of  a 
great  church  of  the  period  of  the  Crusades.  These 
ruins  had  been  recently  uncovered. 

The  city  of  Samaria  was  founded  by  Omri, 
king  of  Israel.  He  bought  the  hill  from  Shemer, 
from  whose  name  Samaria  is  derived.  The  loca- 
tion was  favorable  for  a  capital,  not  only  because 
of  its  beauty,  but  also  on  account  of  the  rich  val- 
ley surrounding  its  natural  means  of  defense. 
149 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

The  approach  to  the  summit  is  steep  on  all  sides, 
and  it  would  have  required  a  powerful  army  in 
Bible  times  to  assault  the  city  successfully.  While 
the  city  was  difficult  to  take  by  assault,  it  was 
taken  more  than  once  by  siege. 

Ahab  and  Jezebel  were  prominently  connected 
with  Samaria.  It  was  one  of  their  seats  of  gov- 
ernment, the  other  having  been  at  Jezreel.  From 
the  hill  the  Mediterranean  Sea  is  in  sight,  and  the 
view  is  fine  in  every  direction.  Herod  built  a 
temple  here  to  Augustus  and  fortified  and  beauti- 
fied the  place.  The  modern  name  is  Sebastiyeh, 
from  the  Greek  Sebaste,  which  means  Augusta. 

Near  the  ruins  of  the  Crusader  church  is  a 
thrashing-floor.  This  was  being  used  the  day  I 
was  there.  The  modern  Samaria,  or  Sebastiyeh, 
has  nothing  imposing  about  it.  It  is  a  small, 
straggling  village  on  the  lower  slope  of  the  east 
side  of  the  hill.  It  is  built  among  ruins,  and  the 
whole  place  has  the  appearance  of  ruins. 

I  left  the  hill  of  Samaria  with  an  impression 
of  the  place  I  had  never  had  before.  I  could 
easily  understand  why  it  took  three  years  for 
Sargon,  Assyria's  king,  to  take  the  city.  The  hill 
was  an  object-lesson  of  God's  power  over  the  na- 
tions. The  present  desolation  shows  that  the 
150 


FROM  SHECHEM  TO  NAZARETH 

prophecies  of  God's  word  have  their  fulfilment. 
I  am  glad  that  I  had  the  privilege  of  going  over 
that  historic  spot.  We  walked  down  the  north 
side  of  the  hill  and  came  to  our  wagons  which  had 
come  here  to  meet  us. 

In  about  an  hour  after  we  left  the  hill  of  Sa- 
maria we  reached  the  plain  of  Dothan.  The  road 
was  steep  much  of  the  way  and  wound  among  the 
many  hills  in  a  northerly  direction.  Our  guide 
pointed  out  what  is  called  the  hill  of  Joseph, 
where  tradition  says  that  Joseph  was  sold  by  his 
brothers  to  the  Ishmaelites. 

It  required  but  a  little  stretch  of  imagination 
to  see  Joseph  traveling  northward  from  his  home 
in  Hebron  twelve  miles  south  of  Jerusalem,  over 
the  road  by  which  we  had  come.  He  was  sent  to 
learn  the  whereabouts  of  his  brothers  for  whom 
he  was  searching.  They  were  attending  their 
father's  flocks  and  herds.  Joseph  heard  at 
Shechem  that  they  had  moved  on  to  Dothan,  and 
he  pressed  forward  until  he  came  in  sight  of  them. 
We  passed  close  to  the  place.  There  were  numer- 
ous flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  here,  attended  by 
shepherds.  I  saw  a  boy  or  youth  near  Joseph's 
hill,  who  must  have  resembled  Joseph  in  age  and 
dress,  and  this  made  the  scene  impressive.  The 
151 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

place  is  upon  the  great  thoroughfare  between  the 
North  and  the  South  and  caravans  passed  over 
this  road.  What  was  once  the  city  of  Dothan  lies 
to  the  left  of  the  route  over  which  we  rode.  It  is 
now  marked  only  by  a  few  ruins.  It  was  here 
that  Elisha  captured  the  Syrian  army  that  was 
sent  to  arrest  him,  and  from  here  he  led  them 
southward  to  Samaria. 

In  the  plain  of  Dothan  I  saw  a  field  scene 
which  was  strange  to  me.  Close  by  the  road 
seven  women  and  girls  were  hoeing  in  a  field. 
They  were  very  attentive  to  their  work.  A  large, 
well-dressed  Moslem  appeared  to  be  the  overseer. 
He  was  not  working,  but  was  directing  the  work 
of  the  women.  He  had  a  donkey  upon  which  to 
ride,  and  had  the  appearance  of  a  haughty  and 
overbearing  slave-driver. 

A  little  after  noon  we  arrived  at  Jenin,  per- 
haps the  Engannim,  or  garden-spring,  of  Josh. 
19 :  21  and  21 :  29.  A  large  spring  rises  east  of 
the  town  and  flows  through  the  middle  of  the  vil- 
lage. We  were  taken  to  the  Hotel  Jenin,  which 
belongs  to  the  Hamburg-American  Line.  The 
cooks  who  had  come  with  us  from  Jerusalem  pro- 
vided our  lunch  in  the  dining-room.  It  was  rather 
warm  and  we  were  glad  to  rest  for  two  hours. 

152 


FROM  SHECHEM  TO  NAZARETH 

There  was  nothing  of  special  interest  here,  so  our 
party  started  on  at  three  o'clock  toward  Nazareth. 

For  some  distance  we  rode  along  the  route 
which  is  being  graded  for  a  railroad.  This  road 
is  to  connect  Jerusalem  with  the  railroad  now  in 
operation  between  Haifa,  or  Carmel,  and  Damas- 
cus. 

We  soon  came  to  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  called 
in  the  scriptures  Megiddo.  This  separates  the 
mountains  of  Samaria  from  those  of  Galilee.  The 
plain  is  triangular  in  shape  and  extends  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty  miles  from  northwest  to  southeast, 
and  fifteen  from  north  to  south.  It  has  arms,  how- 
ever, that  reach  to  the  Mediterranean  on  the  west 
and  to  the  Jordan  on  the  east. 

The  plain  of  Esdraelon  is  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  productive  portions  of  Palestine.  A  part 
of  it  is  under  careful  cultivation  and  I  saw  fine 
crops  of  wheat.  Here  I  saw  grain  being  hauled  on 
wagons.  Elsewhere  it  was  hauled  on  the  backs 
of  donkeys  or  camels.  I  saw  also  modern  machin- 
ery for  harvesting  the  grain,  but  there  were  no 
thrashing-machines.  The  thrashing-floors  were 
still  in  use. 

Soon  after  entering  the  plain  of  Esdraelon  we 
saw  ahead  of  us,  nestling  among  the  hills,  the  city 
158 


GLIMrSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

of  Nazareth.  It  seemed  to  be  near  by,  but  we  had 
a  long  ride  before  reaching  it.  We  soon  came  in 
sight  of  Mount  Gilboa  on  our  right.  This  was  the 
scene  of  Saul's  last  battle  with  the  Philistines,  in 
which  he  and  his  sons  fell.  This  plain  has  been 
called  the  battlefield  of  the  world.  It  was  here 
that  Gideon  and  his  army  of  three  hundred  de- 
feated the  Midianites.  Here  Josiah  fell  in  battle 
with  the  Egyptians.  The  Komans  led  campaigns 
here,  and  Napoleon  defeated  the  Turks  on  this 
plain. 

Our  wagons  halted  and  Jezreel  was  pointed 
out  to  us  off  at  our  right.  This  is  on  a  hill  and 
was  one  of  the  royal  residences  of  Ahab  and  Jeze- 
bel. Jezreel  is  now  a  village  of  mud  huts.  Farther 
on  we  saw  Shunem,  Nain  and  Endor.  These  are 
all  upon  spurs  of  the  mountains.  Little  Hermon, 
the  hill  Moreh  of  the  scriptures,  is  on  the  eastern 
border  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  Mount  Tabor 
is  a  little  further  north.  It  is  a  round  mountain 
about  two  thousand  feet  in  height. 

Looking  toward  the  west  we  could  see  Mount 
Carmel.  It  was  on  the  eastern  portion  of  this 
mountain  that  Elijah  met  the  prophets  of  Baal 
and  gained  the  victory  over  them  in  the  name  of 
Jehovah.  Somewhere  during  our  afternoon's  ride 
154 


(  (II.II.N  .\AI1I   S.      nil, I,     III-      ^WIAKIA 


WOMEN    CARIUING   FUEL 


FROM  SHECHEM  TO  NAZARETH 

we  crossed  the  track  of  Elijah  in  his  flight  from 
Mount  Carmel  to  Jezreel. 

At  one  point  in  our  journey  northward  from 
Jerusalem,  we  saw  a  number  of  women  carrying 
large  baskets  upon  their  heads.  We  wondered 
what  the  burdens  were,  until  we  were  informed 
that  the  women  had  been  out  gathering  fuel.  They 
had  picked  up  the  dried  dung  of  animals  from  the 
pasture  lands  and  were  carrying  it  home  to  be 
used  for  fuel. 

At  about  five  o'clock  we  crossed  the  railroad 
tracks  of  the  line  heretofore  mentioned,  and  in 
half  an  hour  we  were  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
of  Galilee.  People  were  returning  from  the  fields 
in  the  plain  to  their  homes  in  Nazareth.  A  young 
Syrian  was  riding  on  a  wheel-rake,  the  only  one 
I  saw  in  Palestine.  The  ascent  is  very  steep  and 
most  of  our  company  walked  a  long  distance  until 
we  came  to  comparatively  level  ground.  The  city 
is  about  one  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
plain  of  Esdraelon.  We  rode  into  Nazareth  at 
seven  in  the  evening  and  went  directly  to  Hotel 
Germania  where  we  had  excellent  accommoda- 
tions. 


156 


XXIII 
GLIMPSES  OF  NAZARETH 

After  a  comfortable  evening  meal,  Professor 
Luckey  and  I  sat  for  some  time  on  the  balcony 
opening  from  our  room  and  looking  toward  the 
south.  The  beauty  and  impressiveness  of  the 
scene  I  can  not  easily  forget.  In  the  clear  moon- 
light we  could  look  out  upon  the  region  that  was 
made  sacred  by  the  presence  of  the  Word  made 
flesh. 

We  talked  of  the  childhood  of  Jesus  and  the 
impressions  made  upon  Him  by  living  within  sight 
of  the  scenes  of  many  of  the  great  events  of  Old 
Testament  history.  To  me  the  evening  was  one 
of  the  most  sacred  I  had  ever  spent.  I  was  really 
at  Nazareth  and  almost  every  object  suggested 
something  touching  the  childhood  and  youth  of 
our  Lord,  and  the  common  sounds  and  sights  of 
domestic  and  business  life  seemed  inconsistent 
with  the  sacredness  of  the  place.  With  these  im- 
pressions upon  my  mind  I  retired  to  enjoy  a  rest- 
156 


GLIMPSES    OF    NAZAKETH 

ful  night's  sleep  in  one  of  the  most  justly  cele- 
brated spots  in  Palestine. 

Nazareth  is  one  of  the  most  substantial  cities 
of  Palestine.  It  has  upward  of  fifteen  thousand 
inhabitants  and  is  increasing  in  population.  I  was 
surprised  to  find  it  so  large  and  thrifty,  for  I  had 
expected  to  see  only  a  straggling  village.  In  com- 
parison with  the  other  cities  of  Palestine  which  I 
visited,  I  should  say  that  Nazareth  was  a  lively 
city,  that  is,  lively  for  Palestine,  but  not  lively 
as  compared  with  the  cities  of  Western  lands. 

Religiously  Nazareth  has  a  mixed  population. 
About  one-third  are  Moslems,  one-third  Orthodox 
Greeks  and  the  remainder  are  United  Greeks,  Ro- 
man Catholics  and  other  sects,  including  some- 
thing like  three  hundred  Protestants.  While  agri- 
culture is  the  principal  industry,  there  is  consid- 
erable manufacturing.  There  are  no  large  fac- 
tories, but  artisans  carry  on  their  own  small  enter- 
prises. Knives,  sickles  and  other  articles  of  steel 
are  made.  As  tourists  we  were  besieged  by  pedlers 
of  large  and  ugly-looking  pocket  knives. 

Early  the  next  morning  after  reaching  Naza- 
reth three  or  four  of  us  started  out  to  find  Mary's 
Fountain,  so  called  because  of  the  idea  that  Mary, 
the  mother  of  Jesus,  was  accustomed  to  come  here 
157 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

for  water.  The  fountain,  or  spring,  is  in  the  east 
part  of  the  city,  and  the  water  is  conveyed  in 
pipes  two  or  three  hundred  feet  to  a  point  where 
several  streets  come  together.  As  we  approached 
the  fountain,  we  met  many  women  and  girls  car- 
rying water-pots  upon  their  heads.  The  ordinary, 
water-pot  holds  about  three  gallons.  Some  were 
carrying  five-gallon  cans  of  water.  The  women 
wind  a  strip  of  cloth  into  a  ring  for  a  cushion  to 
place  upon  the  top  of  the  head.  On  this  they  place 
the  water-pot  or  can  of  water.  I  saw  some  women 
who  each  carried  two  water-pots,  one  on  her  head 
and  the  other  in  her  arms.  It  was  a  common 
sight  to  see  a  woman  with  a  baby  in  her  arms  and 
carrying  a  water-pot  upon  her  head. 

An  arch  is  built  over  the  place  where  the  water- 
pots  are  filled  and  there  are  several  faucets,  so 
that  the  many  who  come  for  water  can  be  accom- 
modated. The  water-pots  are  not  glazed,  that  is, 
they  are  porous,  so  that  evaporation  is  constant- 
ly taking  place  at  the  outside,  and  on  this  account 
the  water  is  kept  cool.  Mary's  Fountain  is  the 
only  spring  about  Nazareth,  and  it  is  therefore 
likely  that  this  was  the  water  supply  in  Christ's 
time.  In  the  morning  and  in  the  evening  the  scene 
presented  by  the  crowds  that  come  for  water  is 

158 


MARY  S      WF.LL,      XAZARKTII 


^TREL:T     LKADIXG     FROM     MARY  S     WELL 


GLIMPSES    OF     NAZARETH 

pirturesque.  Occasionally  a  man  comes  and  fills 
his  goatskin  bottle  and  carries  it  away  on  his 
back,  and  now  and  then  a  donkey  is  led  to  the 
spring  and  loaded  with  cans  of  water.  These 
cans  are  placed  on  either  side  of  the  donkey  on  the 
pack-saddle. 

The  people  of  Nazareth  show  what  they  say  is 
the  house  of  Mary  and  the  place  where  the  angel 
made  the  announcement  to  her  that  she  should  be 
the  mother  of  Jesus.  The  tourist  has  difficulty 
in  locating  the  spot,  for  the  Greeks  have  one  place 
and  the  Latins  have  another  which  they  claim  is 
the  exact  location.  The  reputed  workshop  of 
Joseph  is  also  shown.  The  places  are  all  caverns 
under  ground,  fitted  with  altars,  and  churches 
are  built  over  them.  We  have  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  this  is  the  Nazareth  in  which  Jo- 
seph, Mary  and  Jesus  dwelt. 

We  visited  a  school  for  boys  and  girls,  which 
is  conducted  by  the  Greek  church.  The  children 
recited  for  us  very  readily.  They  are  taught  Eng- 
lish and  some  of  the  pupils  recited  pieces  and  read 
in  English.  They  sang  for  us,  and  one  of  their 
songs  was  ''America." 

Nazareth  is  situated  a  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon  in  a  basin  of  the 
159 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

mountains  of  Galilee.  To  the  north  of  the  city 
proper  the  hill  rises  five  or  six  hundred  feet 
higher.  Five  of  us  made  the  ascent  of  this  hill. 
The  climb  was  tiresome  in  the  heat  of  the  day, 
but  the  view  from  the  summit  well  repaid  us  for 
the  effort.  To  the  south  we  saw  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon  stretching  away  southward  and  west- 
ward, bordered  on  the  east  by  Little  Hermon, 
Mount  Tabor  and  Mount  Gilboa.  To  the  south- 
west Mount  Carmel  could  be  seen  and  beyond  it 
lay  the  Mediterranean.  To  the  east  across  the 
Jordan  appeared  the  mountains  of  Gilead.  Mount 
Hermon  could  be  seen  to  the  northeast.  From  this 
point  we  could  see  a  large  part  of  the  land  where 
the  great  events  of  sacred  history  took  place. 

Near  the  summit  of  the  hill  is  a  Protestant 
orphanage.  The  buildings  are  substantial  and 
beautiful  and  the  view  from  them  is  fine.  I  was 
glad  to  know  that  Christian  work  was  being  done 
for  Nazaretb  in  education  and  in  medical  atten- 
tion, as  well  as  in  that  which  is  directly  religious. 

At  our  hotel,  at  the  spring  and  in  our  going 
from  place  to  place  we  were  solicited  persistently 
to  buy  fancy  work  made  by  the  women  of  Naza- 
reth. They  do  beautiful  work  and  are  anxious  to 
sell  it.    A  Syrian  girl  calls  herself  Mary.    She  is 

160 


XAZARKTH    FROM     IIUX    OX     THE    NORTH 


TTT^KRTAS   AM)    I  H  K   SFA    OF    GAIJI-FE 


GLIMPSES    OF     NAZARETH 

a  fine-appearing  girl  and  succeeded  iu  selling  her 
wares  to  many  in  our  party.  These  pedlers  stayed 
about  the  hotel  as  late  in  the  evening  as  they  could 
interest  prospective  purchasers,  and  when  we  got 
up  in  the  morning,  they  were  sitting  outside,  work- 
ing and  waiting  for  the  tourists  to  appear  on  the 
streets. 

I  was  glad  to  walk  the  streets  of  Nazareth  and 
to  visit  the  scenes  of  the  childhood,  youth  and 
early  manhood  of  the  Nazarene. 


161 


XXIV 
FEOM  NAZAKETH  TO  TIBEKIAS 

After  spending  parts  of  two  most  delightful 
days  in  Nazareth  our  party  left  the  city  on  the 
afternoon  of  June  11  to  ride  in  carriages  the  six- 
teen miles  to  Tiberias,  on  the  western  shore  of 
the  Sea  of  Galilee.  We  rode  past  Mary's  Foun- 
tain in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city,  and  this  was 
the  third  time  I  visited  this  interesting  spot.  As 
we  ascended  the  hill  to  the  northeast,  we  had  a 
fine  view  of  Nazareth  lying  below  us  in  a  basin  of 
the  hills  of  Galilee.  We  soon  passed  over  the  hills 
which  hid  the  boyhood  home  of  Jesus  from  our 
view. 

One  road  between  Nazareth  and  Tiberias  leads 
southward  by  way  of  Mount  Tabor,  on  the  top  of 
which  are  ruins  of  the  Koman  and  the  Crusader 
periods,  and  there  are  now  Greek  and  Latin  mon- 
asteries on  the  summit,  from  which  it  is  said  the 
view  is  beautiful.  We  took  the  northern  road 
among  the  hills  and  valleys  and  in  less  than  an 
162 


FEOM    NAZARETH    TO   TIBERIAS 

hour  we  were  at  a  little  village  called  El-Meshhed, 
in  the  territory  of  Zebulun.  This  is  the  ancient 
Gath-Hepher,  the  birthplace  of  the  prophet  Jonah. 
His  tomb,  according  to  tradition,  is  here. 

Leaving  Gath-Hepher,  we  rode  in  a  few  min- 
utes into  Kafr  Kenna,  or  ancient  Cana ;  at  least, 
tradition  declares  this  to  be  the  Cana  of  the  scrip- 
tures. Immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  our  party 
the  children  of  Cana  ran  after  us,  calling,  "Hajji, 
hajji,"  which  means  pilgrim,  offering  us  water 
for  money.  The  narrow  streets  have  stone  walls 
or  low  stone  buildings  on  either  side,  very  unat- 
tractive to  an  American.  Cana  has  one  thousand 
inhabitants,  of  whom  about  half  are  Moslems.  The 
most  of  the  other  half  are  Greek  Christians.  There 
are  one  hundred  fifty  Latins  and  a  few  Protes- 
tants. 

We  were  taken  to  a  chapel  which  is  built  upon 
the  spot  where  Christ's  first  miracle  is  said  to 
have  been  performed.  In  the  Greek  church  there 
stands  a  huge  jar,  hewn  out  of  rock,  which  tradi- 
tion says  was  one  of  those  in  use  at  the  marriage 
at  Cana,  and  contained  the  water  which  was  turned 
into  wine.  We  were  at  liberty  to  believe  the  tra- 
dition if  we  desired.  It  is  very  probable  that  the 
village  is  the  ancient  Cana,  but  not  much  de- 
163 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

pendence  can  be  placed  upon  the  claims  about  the 
location  of  the  miracle  or  about  the  jar.  In  John 
21 :  2  we  learn  that  Nathaniel  was  of  Cana  in  Gali- 
lee, and  the  alleged  site  of  his  home  is  occupied 
bj  a  small  chapel  of  the  Roman  Catholics. 

The  ride  to  Tiberias  was  pleasant.  The  route 
lay  among  the  hills,  winding  through  the  valleys, 
affording  picturesque  views,  all  new  to  us.  The 
descent  is  rapid.  Nazareth  lies  more  than  a  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean  and 
the  Sea  of  Galilee  is  six  hundred  eighty-two  feet 
below,  hence  the  descent  is  about  two  thousand 
feet. 

In  two  hours  we  came  to  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Horns  of  Hattin.  There  are  two  peaks  rising 
a  little  from  the  table-land,  in  shape  somewhat 
resembling  a  saddle.  It  is  generally  supposed  that 
between  the  two  horns  Jesus  preached  what  is 
called  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  On  the  slopes 
of  this  hill  camels  in  great  numbers  graze.  About 
twelve  miles  north  of  the  Horns  of  Hattin  is  the 
city  of  Safed  on  the  highest  point  of  Galilee.  Je- 
sus may  have  pointed  to  it  when  He  spoke  of  a 
city  set  upon  a  hill. 

This  region  is  remarkable  also  from  the  fact 
that  southeast  of  the  Horns  of  Hattin  was  fought 

164 


FEOM    NAZARETH    TO    TIBERIAS 

a  great  battle  between  the  Crusaders  and  the  Mos- 
lems, which  decided  the  fate  of  the  Crusades.  The 
Moslems  were  victorious  in  this  battle,  which  was 
fought  in  1187,  and  the  power  of  the  Crusades  was 
broken.  Subsequent  attempts  to  regain  Palestine 
were  fruitless  and  the  land  continued  under  the 
sway  of  the  Moslems. 

A  ride  of  a  few  miles  eastward  from  the  Horns 
of  Hattin  brought  us  to  a  point  where,  having 
rounded  a  hill,  we  had  our  first  sight  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee.  I  was  deeply  moved  as  I  looked  upon 
its  beautiful  blue  waters  and  realized  that  it  was 
the  sea  whose  waves  Jesus  more  than  once  had 
stilled.  From  every  point  where  the  sea  was  vis- 
ible I  looked  eagerly  at  it  and  feasted  my  eyes 
upon  the  scene.  The  Sea  of  Galilee  was  much  in 
my  thoughts  as  I  was  planning  my  trip  to  Pales- 
tine and  I  was  looking  forward  to  the  time  when 
I  should  actually  see  it.  As  I  think  of  it  now,  I 
did  not  see  much  besides  the  sea  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  ride  to  Tiberias.  We  soon  came 
within  sight  of  the  city  of  Tiberias  and  I  got  out 
of  the  wagon  to  take  a  picture  of  the  city  and  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  on  whose  shores  it  stands. 

We  arrived  at  Tiberias  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening  and  went  at  once  to  the  Hotel  Tiberias 
ia5 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

where  we  were  comfortably  cared  for.  I  was  glad 
that  ray  room  opened  upon  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  The 
carriages  that  had  brought  us  from  Jerusalem 
were  sent  back  and  went  by  a  more  direct  route 
than  the  one  by  Nazareth.  Our  journey  to  the 
Mediterranean  would  be  made  by  steamer  and  by 
railroad,  hence  we  had  no  further  use  for  the 
wasons. 


166 


XXV 

AT    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 

After  arriving  at  Tiberias  it  was  not  easy  to 
content  ourselves  until  we  had  gone  down  to  the 
shore  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  even  though  the  time 
was  short  before  the  evening  meal.  We  must  be 
close  to  its  waters  and  become  intimate  with  this 
sacred  and  historic  sea.  We  spent  a  few  minutes 
on  the  shore  and  then  went  to  the  hotel  for  dinner. 
We  were  served  with  fish  taken  from  the  Sea  of 
Galilee. 

The  city  of  Tiberias,  which  is  mentioned  in 
John  6 :  23,  is  situated  on  the  west  shore  of  the 
sea  nearly  midway  between  the  north  and  south 
ends.  It  was  founded  in  the  Roman  period,  about 
15  A.  D.,  and  was  named  in  honor  of  the  Roman 
emperor  Tiberius.  It  became  prominent,  after 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  as  the  center  of 
Jewish  influence,  and  was  for  a  time  the  place 
where  the  Sanhedrin  met.  It  now  has  a  popula- 
tion of  nearly  nine  thousand,  of  whom  seven  thou 

167 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

sand  are  Jews  and  the  rest  are  Moslems,  Greeks, 
Roman  Catholics  and  a  few  Protestants.  The 
Scotch  have  a  mission  and  a  hospital  here.  There 
are  ruins  of  the  Roman  and  Crusader  periods 
about  the  city. 

The  Sea  of  Galilee  is  called  also  the  Sea  of 
Tiberias,  the  Lake  of  Genuesaret  and  the  Lake  of 
Chinnereth.  The  last  name  is  from  a  word  mean- 
ing a  lute,  as  the  sea  has  something  of  the  shape 
of  that  instrument.  Its  length  is  thirteen  miles 
and  it  broadens  out  at  its  widest  part,  about  half 
way  between  the  north  and  the  south,  to  seven 
and  a  half  miles.  Its  greatest  depth  is  said  to  be 
one  hundred  fifty-seven  feet.  It  is  surrounded  on 
all  sides  by  mountains  which  rise  to  a  height  of 
two  thousand  feet.  These  mountains  are  broken 
by  wadies,  or  ravines,  which  extend  down  to  the 
shore.  The  Jordan  River  flows  into  the  north  end 
through  a  narrow  valley,  and  flows  out  as  a  nar- 
row stream  at  the  south.  In  some  places  the 
mountains  extend  close  to  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
but  generally  there  is  a  narrow  strip  of  beach 
between  the  mountains  and  the  shore. 

The  Sea  of  Galilee  is  subject  to  sudden  storms. 
The  wind  sweeps  down  upon  it  through  the 
wadies,  which  act  as  funnels,  and  quickly  pro- 
168 


AT    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 

duce  a  great  commotion  on  the  waters.  Those  who 
go  out  on  the  lake  are  very  cautious.  If  they  see 
the  water  begin  to  grow  rough  in  the  distance, 
they  make  all  possible  haste  to  reach  the  shore 
before  the  storm  strikes  them.  It  was  not  my 
privilege  to  see  one  of  these  tempests  on  the  lake, 
as  there  were  none  while  I  was  there. 

The  morning  after  the  arrival  of  our  party  at 
Tiberias  we  got  an  early  start  to  ride  on  the  lake 
to  the  northern  end.  A  part  of  our  company  rode 
in  a  little  steamer  and  the  rest  in  two  rowboats 
which  were  towed  by  the  steamer.  We  set  out  to 
visit  what  is  believed  to  be  the  site  of  ancient 
Capernaum.  The  water  was  a  little  rough,  sufli- 
ciently  so  to  cover  some  of  us  plentifully  with 
spray,  but  there  was  no  storm  on.  The  ride  was 
enchanting,  for  while  the  scenery  was  beautiful, 
I  was  taken  up  with  the  scenes  of  the  past.  I 
looked  to  the  west  and  sa\\'  clearly  the  Horns  of 
Hattin  and  other  places  which  were  familiar  to 
our  Lord  and  His  disciples.  I  saw  the  shore  upon 
which  the  people  were  gathered  to  listen  to  Him 
as  He  spoke  from  a  fisherman's  boat,  though  I 
could  not  locate  the  exact  place  on  the  shore.  I 
looked  over  the  stretch  of  hills  about  the  sea  and 
imagined  them  thickly  dotted  with  cities  and  vil- 
169 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

lages  as  they  were  in  Christ's  time,  but  now  there 
is  only  here  and  there  a  straggling  village.  These 
hills  were  gray  from  the  drought  and  heat,  for  no 
rain  had  fallen  for  two  or  three  months;  but  in 
early  spring  they  are  covered  with  beautiful  flow- 
ers and  herbage. 

I  looked  toward  the  northeast  and  saw  where 
the  Jordan  wound  its  way  into  the  Sea  of  Galilee 
between  banks  that  were  lined  with  shrubbery, 
and  on  farther  toward  Mount  Hermon  with  its 
summit  covered  with  snow,  the  scene  of  Christ's 
transfiguration.  I  noted  the  hills  to  the  east 
sloping  down  to  the  water  and  wondered  if  I 
could  locate  the  steep  place  where  the  swine 
rushed  violently  down  into  the  sea  after  the  devils 
had  entered  into  them.  There  is  one  place  which 
answers  the  conditions  well.  The  mountain  pro- 
jects boldly  toward  the  sea  and  extends  by  a  pre- 
cipitous descent  to  the  water's  edge.  I  learned 
that  this  was  supposed  to  be  the  spot  where  the 
herd  of  two  thousand  swine  was  lost.  The  region 
of  the  ten  cities,  or  Decapolis,  appeared  to  be 
largely  desolate. 

I  enjoyed  the  occasion  to  the  full,  and  if  I 
had  possessed  greater  capacity  for  enjoyment, 
there  was  enough  in  the  scene  to  have  filled  it. 
170 


AT    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 

The  fresh,  invigorating  breeze,  the  beauty  of  the 
hills,  the  attractiveness  of  the  waters  of  Gennesa- 
ret,  together  with  the  associations  of  the  region, 
conspired  to  make  the  occasion  one  never  to  be 
forgotten. 

A  ride  of  seven  miles  brought  us  to  the  sup- 
posed site  of  Capernaum  on  the  northwest  shore 
of  the  lake.  The  region  has  been  to  a  large  extent 
explored,  and  excavations  have  been  made,  show- 
ing the  ruins  of  a  city  of  considerable  size.  Ex- 
tensive ruins  have  been  uncovered  a  short  distance 
back  from  the  shore  which  seem  to  be  those  of  the 
ancient  synagogue,  built  by  the  centurion.  It  was 
constructed  of  fine  limestone  and  was  seventy- 
nine  feet  in  length  and  fifty-nine  in  width.  There 
was  a  colonnade  extending  around  the  north, 
west  and  south  sides.  Many  of  the  bases  of  the 
columns  are  still  in  position.  The  synagogue  was 
solidly  built  and  elaborately  decorated.  The 
Franciscans  of  the  Romish  church  own  the  site 
and  have  enclosed  it  by  a  wall.  It  is  their  inten- 
tion to  restore  the  synagogue,  making  it  appear  as 
nearly  as  possible  as  it  was  when  originally  built, 
and  to  build  over  it  a  great  church.  Thus  another 
sacred  s])ot  will  be  covered  up  by  an  ecclesiastical 
institution. 

171 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

Ou  our  return  trip  to  Tiberias  we  stopped  at 
the  alleged  site  of  the  Bethsaida  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment scriptures.  It  is  quite  certain  that  there 
was  a  Bethsaida  Julias  ou  the  northeast  shore  of 
the  lake,  and  it  is  thought  by  many  that  there 
was  another  Bethsaida  in  the  region  which  I  have 
just  mentioned;  vet  by  some  it  is  believed  there 
was  only  one  Bethsaida.  We  were  glad  to  go 
ashore  at  this  point  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake. 
The  beach  is  beautiful.  I  took  occasion  to  gather 
a  number  of  pebbles  and  shells  that  were  washed 
by  the  waters  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  to  bring  home 
as  souvenirs  of  that  delightful  day.  We  passed 
near  the  site  of  ancient  Magdala  on  this  trip. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  day  that  we  had  visited 
the  sites  of  Capernaum  and  Bethsaida,  we  visited 
the  studio  of  an  American  lady  who  was  making 
a  protracted  sojourn  in  Tiberias  to  paint  a  picture 
representing  the  scene  of  Christ  and  His  disciples 
on  the  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  on  the  occasion 
of  the  miraculous  draft  of  fishes. 

The  artist  had  searched  long  and  patiently  for 
a  man  whom  she  might  use  as  a  model  for  Peter, 
After  several  months  she  found  a  Jew  of  Jerusa- 
lem, converted  to  Christanity,  who  answered  to 
her  idea  of  the  appearance  of  Peter.  She  had 
172 


AT    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 

made  several  sketches  of  this  man  and  of  the 
other  disciples,  as  well  as  of  Jesus,  and  was 
painting  the  whole  scene  on  a  canvas  twelve  by 
twenty  feet  in  size.  She  was  able  to  reproduce  the 
style  of  dress  worn  by  the  men  of  Galilee,  and 
could  paint  the  boats  as  they  were  used  in  Christ's 
time.  She  had  watched  the  sea,  the  mountains, 
the  sky  and  the  clouds  until  she  was  able  to  trans- 
fer to  her  canvas  the  scene  with  all  its  beautiful 
colorings.  The  painting  gave  promise  of  being 
one  of  rare  excellence.  It  represents  the  scene  at 
the  instant  when  Peter,  having  fallen  upon  his 
knees  before  Jesus,  was  saying  to  Him,  ''Depart 
from  me;  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  O  Lord"  (Luke 
5:8). 

A  number  of  the  men  of  our  party  went  south- 
ward from  the  studio  and  walked  along  the  shore 
of  the  sea  about  a  mile  to  the  hot  springs.  There 
are  several  hot  springs  flowing  out  of  the  side 
of  the  hill  a  short  distance  from  the  shore,  and  a 
considerable  amount  of  water  flows  from  them 
into  the  sea.  The  water  is  so  hot  that  one  can 
not  hold  his  hand  in  it.  The  temperature  is  one 
hundred  forty-three  degrees.  One  of  the  pastimes 
of  the  native  boys  is  to  drop  a  pebble  or  button 
into  the  shallow  stream  of  hot  water  and  reach  in 
173 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

to  grasp  it  with  their  fingers,  and  some  of  us  tried 
the  same  sport. 

There  are  two  or  three  bath-houses  managed 
by  natives.  The  water  from  these  hot  springs  is 
used.  The  natives  claim  that  the  water  is  of  great 
medicinal  value,  being  especially-  effective  in 
curing  rheumatism  and  diseases  of  the  skin.  The 
water  has  a  sulfureous  smell  and  a  salt  and  bitter 
taste.  It  leaves  a  greenish  deposit  upon  the  stones 
over  which  it  flows.  It  contains  sulfur  and  chlorid 
of  magnesium.  The  bath-houses  did  not  appear 
very  inviting  and  none  of  our  party  patronized 
them. 

The  natives  along  the  shore  use  the  water  of 
the  Sea  of  Galilee  for  drinking  purposes,  and  it 
seems  wholesome  and  palatable,  except  near  the 
hot  springs.  We  found  a  suitable  place  for  bath- 
ing in  the  lake  not  far  from  the  city  and  enjoyed 
a  swim  in  the  beautiful  blue  waters  of  Galilee 
before  returning  to  Tiberias. 

There  are  ruins  of  ancient  buildings  scattered 
along  the  shore  and  on  the  slope  of  the  hills  be- 
tween the  hot  springs  and  Tiberias.  There  are 
also  Jewish  and  Mohammedan  burying-grounds. 
I  greatly  enjoyed  the  excursion  along  the  shore 
of  this  sacred  water. 

174 


AT    THE    SEA    OF    GALILEE 

The  usual  Oriental  street-scenes  appear  in  Ti- 
berias. In  the  grain-market  were  heaps  of  wheat 
and  barley  on  blankets  in  the  streets.  The  pro- 
prietors were  in  charge  with  their  measures.  The 
customers  filled  the  measures  themselves,  shook 
down  the  grain  and  heaped  it  up  until  no  more 
would  stay  on.  The  narrow  streets  had  fruits  and 
other  produce  exposed  for  sale  in  front  of  the 
shops.  In  one  place  shopkeepers  were  making 
ice-cream  in  the  street  and  they  were  anxious  to 
sell  it  to  us  as  we  passed  by,  but  we  did  not  think 
we  could  relish  it  after  seeing  the  surrounding 
filth  and  the  untidiness  of  the  makers. 

One  evening  while  at  Tiberias  I  was  looking 
out  over  the  city  from  the  balcony  of  the 
hotel  and  saw  a  sight  that  was  impressive  to  me, 
but  exceedingly  common  in  Palestine.  A  shep- 
herd, or  goatherd  rather,  came  into  the  city,  fol- 
lowed by  a  large  flock  of  goats  which  he  had  been 
caring  for  in  the  fields  during  the  day.  He  came 
to  a  corner  where  another  man  was  standing.  The 
man  was  waiting  for  the  flock  and  as  it  came  up, 
he  said  something  to  the  goats  and  a  part  of  the 
flock  followed  him  as  he  started  down  the  street. 
The  goatherd  went  a  little  further  and  another 
man  led  away  a  part  of  his  flock.  This  process 
175 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

was  repeated  until  the  goatherd's  own  goats 
alone  Avere  left  to  follow  him  to  their  fold.  The 
goats  knew  their  respective  owners  and  followed 
them.  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  frequent 
references  to  shepherd  life  made  by  our  Lord,  and 
the  spiritual  application  which  He  made  of  the 
relation  of  the  shepherd  to  the  sheep.  I  was  close 
to  the  place  where  Jesus  said  to  Peter,  "Feed  my 
lambs,"  and,  "Feed  my  sheep." 

The  region  about  the  Sea  of  Galilee  is  said  to 
be  very  healthful,  except  after  the  first  rains  in  the 
fall,  when  there  is  likely  to  be  some  fever.  This 
could  probably  be  prevented  by  giving  proper  at- 
tention to  the  water  used  for  drinking  purposes. 
The  proprietor  of  the  hotel  where  we  stayed  came 
to  Tiberias  an  invalid  and  regained  his  health. 
There  has  been  something  done  toward  making 
the  place  a  health  resort. 

Our  company  arranged  for  a  moonlight  ride 
on  the  Sea  of  Galilee  for  the  second  night  of  our 
stay  at  Tiberias.  Boatmen  and  boats  were  en- 
gaged, and  after  dinner  the  party  went  to  enjoy 
this  great  privilege.  The  waters  were  calm  and 
the  moonlight  upon  the  lake  made  the  occasion 
one  of  great  interest.  The  song,  "O  Galilee,  sweet 
Galilee,"  was  sung  with  feeling  and  with  a  deep 
176 


AT  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE 

sense  of  its  appropriateness.  The  conductor  of 
our  party  gave  a  talk,  describing  the  works  of 
Jesus  on  the  sea  and  in  the  surrounding  regions. 
This  eventful  day  closed  and  the  party  returned 
to  the  hotel  to  rest  and  to  think  of  ''Galilee,  sweet 
Galilee." 


177 


XXVI 
FROM  GALILEE  TO  CARMEL 

June  13  was  the  day  appointed  to  leave  the  Sea 
of  Galilee.  In  the  morning  we  were  notified  to 
have  our  baggage  packed  early  in  the  forenoon  and 
be  ready  for  lunch  at  half  past  eleven,  as  we  must 
leave  the  hotel  about  noon. 

The  baggage  for  twenty-six  tourists,  our  con- 
ductor and  two  guides  was  considerable.  It  was 
carried  to  the  boat-landing  on  the  backs  of  men. 
Each  carrier  had  a  long,  heavy  strap,  which  he 
buckled  around  six  or  eight  large  suitcases  and 
carried  the  bundle  on  his  back.  Some  of  the  fragile 
articles  in  the  suitcases  were  broken  and  the 
cases  themselves  were  not  improved  in  shape  by 
such  handling. 

A  steamer  makes  the  trip  from  Tiberias  to 
Semakh  to  connect  with  trains  on  the  Hejaz  rail- 
way. The  construction  of  this  railroad  was  com- 
menced in  1901  by  order  of  the  sultan,  that  Mo- 
hammedans might  the  more  readily  make  their 
178 


SEA    OF    flAI-TI.EE 


A     BEDOUIN  S     lENT 


FKOM    GALILEE   TO    CARMEL 

annual  pilgrimages  to  Mecca.  The  northern  ter- 
tninus  of  the  road  is  Damascus.  Through  private 
contributions  and  public  taxation  the  road  was 
built  as  far  as  Medina,  in  Arabia,  a  distance  of 
eight  hundred  twenty-three  miles,  and  was  in 
operation  in  1908.  Since  the  young  Turks  came 
into  power,  the  enterprise  has  been  allowed  to  rest. 
A  branch  road  extends  from  Der'a,  a  point  east  of 
the  Sea  of  Galilee,  to  Haifa  on  the  Mediterranean. 
There  is  one  train  daily  each  way  between  Damas- 
cus and  Haifa. 

We  went  on  board  the  steamer  at  Tiberias  at 
about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  had  a  most 
enjoyable  ride  to  the  foot  of  the  lake.  The  water 
was  very  calm.  Some  of  the  way  it  seemed  like 
glass.  We  had  a  fine  view  of  the  hills  on  either 
side  of  the  lake.  We  passed  near  the  outlet  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  the  Jordan,  which  is  a  small  stream 
flowing  out  of  the  southwest  part  of  this  body  of 
water.  We  landed  at  Seraakh  to  the  east  of  the 
river.  The  town  is  small  and  it  is  important  prin- 
cipally as  the  railroad  station  for  Tiberias  and  the 
Galilee  region.  From  this  point  I  could  see  the 
entire  length  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Away  to  the 
north  Mount  Hermon  was  in  sight  with  its  top 
covered  with  snow.    It  shone  beautifully  white  in 

17» 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

the  clear  sunlight.  It  was  very  hot  about  the  sta- 
tion \N  here  I  was,  and  the  contrast  between  that 
place  and  snow-capped  Hermon,  which  I  saw  in 
the  distance,  was  striking  indeed. 

At  three  o'clock  the  train  came.  The  carriages 
were  not  large,  as  the  road  is  narrow  gage,  three 
and  a  half  feet.  The  accommodations  were  as  good 
as  one  could  expect  in  that  country,  and  the  trip 
to  Haifa  was  full  of  interest.  We  rode  down  the 
Jordan  valley  for  six  miles  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  through  regions  which  in  Christ's  time  were 
Gaulonitis  and  Perea.  The  Jordan  is  but  a  small 
stream  until  it  receives  the  Yarmuk  Elver  from 
the  east.  The  railroad  crosses  the  latter  stream 
by  a  bridge  one  hundred  sixty-four  feet  long.  This 
bridge  is  near  the  i)oint  where  the  Yarmuk  flows 
into  the  Jordan.  A  mile  farther  south  the  road 
crosses  the  Jordan  on  a  bridge  nearly  two  hundred 
feet  in  length.  This  is  the  lowest  point  on  the  line, 
being  eight  hundred  fifteen  feet  below  the  level  of 
the  Mediterranean. 

We  continued  in  the  Jordan  valley  for  ten 
miles  from  Semakh.  Much  of  this  region  is  pro- 
ductive. We  saw  many  Bedouin  camps  as  we 
passed  along.  Their  tents  of  goatskins  are  pic- 
turesque, but  not  especially  attractive.  They  are 
180 


FEOM    GALILEE   TO    CAKMEL 

pitched  in  the  open  plain.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  find  trees  in  whose  shade  they  might  be  placed. 
The  Bedouins  spend  most  of  their  time  outside 
their  tents. 

Leaving  the  Jordan  valle^',  we  entered  the  rich 
plain  of  Esdraelon.  The  railroad  was  laid  in  the 
Jordan  valley  and  this  plain  to  avoid  the  hills 
which  lie  in  the  direct  line  between  Semakh  and 
Haifa,  making  the  route  ten  or  twelve  miles 
longer  than  the  air-line  distance  between  the  two 
places.  Shortly  after  leaving  the  Jordan  valley, 
we  came  to  Beisan,  the  ancient  Beth-shean,  in  the 
tribe  of  ilanasseh.  One  can  scarcely  help  thinking 
that  the  sacredness  of  these  historic  places  is  vio- 
lated by  the  encroachment  of  railroads  with  their 
noisy,  roaring  trains. 

We  passed  near  Aphek,  Jezreel,  Shunem,  Nain 
and  Endor  and  were  in  full  view  of  Mount  Gilboa 
and  Mount  Tabor.  We  had  been  near  all  these 
places  on  our  journey  from  Jerusalem  to  Naz- 
areth. 

El-Fuleh  is  a  station  thirty-two  miles  from 
Semakh.  It  will  be  important  from  the  fact  that 
a  railroad  is  under  construction  to  connect  this 
place  with  Jerusalem.  Thus  many  of  the  impor- 
tant places  in  Palestine  can  soon  be  reached  by 
181 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

railroad  trains.  Many  tourists,  however,  wiU  pre- 
fer to  travel  in  more  primitive  style. 

From  this  place  we  were  in  full  view  of  Mount 
Carmel,  and  soon  were  riding  along  its  base.  The 
railroad  extends  along  the  northeast  side  of  Mount 
Carmel  through  the  valley  of  the  Kishon  Eiver. 
This  stream  is  rather  sluggish  in  a  large  part  of 
its  course,  and  becomes  a  fair-sized  river  where  it 
empties  into  the  Mediterranean. 

On  this  trip  we  saw  the  most  fertile  parts  of 
Palestine.  We  saw  immense  flocks  of  sheep  and 
goats  and  great  herds  of  cattle.  Much  wheat  is 
produced  in  this  region.  We  arrived  at  Haifa  in 
about  three  hours  after  leaving  Semakh.  In  that 
time  we  had  crossed  more  than  half  of  Palestine 
from  east  to  west  on  a  slow  train  and  had  come 
several  miles  out  of  a  direct  course.  We  rode 
on  the  train  fifty-four  miles. 


182 


XXVII 
HAIFA  AND  MOUNT  CARMEL 

On  our  arrival  at  Haifa  we  were  taken  in  car- 
riages from  the  railroad  station,  which  is  in  the 
southeast  part  of  the  city,  through  the  town  to 
the  Hotel  Carmel,  which  is  pleasantly  situated 
close  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  We  were  near 
a  pier  that  was  constructed  expressly  for  the  use 
of  the  German  emperor  in  landing  here  a  few 
years  ago.  Several  of  us  went  down  to  the  sea 
soon  after  reaching  the  hotel  and  again  later  in 
the  evening. 

Haifa,  or  Caiffa,  is  a  city  of  twenty  thousand 
inhabitants.  It  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible  and 
probably  there  was  no  town  of  importance  there 
during  that  period.  It  is  identified  with  the  city 
Sycaminum  of  the  Greek  and  the  Roman  periods. 
Across  the  Bay  of  Acre,  near  which  Haifa  is  built, 
is  the  city  of  Acre  where  the  ancient  Accho 
(Judges  1;31)  stood.  This  was  not  a  city  of 
Israel,  but  belonged  to  Phenicia. 

1S8 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

More  than  half  of  the  inhabitants  are  Moslems. 
There  are  five  thousand  Jews,  one  thousand  five 
hundred  Orthodox  Greeks,  six  hundred  Roman 
Catholics  and  a  few  Protestants.  The  English 
church  maintains  a  hospital  and  schools.  There 
is  a  German  colony  close  to  the  city,  and  the  thrift 
and  the  comfortable  homes  are  in  marked  contrast 
to  the  purely  native  conditions  that  largely  pre- 
vail about  the  city. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  after  reaching 
Haifa  we  went  in  carriages  to  the  northwestern 
summit  of  Mount  Carmel.  We  rode  through  the 
German  colony  where  abundant  crops  of  grain 
were  being  harvested.  A. well  constructed  road 
leads  up  the  mountain,  winding  about  its  sides  to 
secure  an  easy  grade.  The  road  is  enclosed  by 
stone  walls  on  either  side.  I  noticed  here  what  I 
saw  in  other  places  also.  To  make  the  walls  more 
effective  in  keeping  out  intruders,  pieces  of  broken 
glass  were  placed  in  the  mortar  or  cement  upon 
the  top  of  the  walls.  These  sharp  and  jagged 
points  would  make  the  scaling  of  the  walls  a  diflS- 
cult  and  uncomfortable  experiment.  There  were 
trees,  shrubbery  and  flowers  along  the  driveway. 
The  road  leads  around  the  promontory  and 
reaches  the  summit  from  the  northwest.    We  were 

184 


HAIFA  AND  MOUNT  CARMEL 

taken  to  the  Monastery  of  Elijah,  so  called  from 
the  tradition  that  the  grotto  over  which  it  was 
built  was  the  dwelling-place  of  Elijah.  The  high 
altar  of  the  chapel  stands  on  the  Cave  of  Elijah. 
On  a  side  altar  is  an  old  wood-carving  representing 
the  prophet. 

We  were  conducted  up  to  the  roof  of  the 
monastery  where  we  had  a  splendid  view  of  the 
sea,  the  mountain  and  the  surrounding  country. 
Before  leaving  the  place  the  guide  led  our  party 
into  a  reception  room  for  tourists,  where  we  had 
an  opportunity  to  examine  souvenirs  and  purchase 
pictures  of  the  place.  The  monks  distil  an  aro- 
matic medicine,  called  Eau  de  Melisse,  or  Water 
of  Balm-mint,  which  they  recommend  highly  for 
many  bodily  ills  and  industriously  try  to  sell  to 
visitors.  They  also  distil  a  liquor  and  are  eager 
to  make  sales  to  tourists.  I  had  no  occasion  to 
use  the  medicine,  and  had  no  disposition  to  pur- 
chase the  distilled  liquor  which  they  manufac- 
tured. We  passed  through  the  gardens  about  the 
monastery,  which  were  very  carefully  cultivated  by 
the  monks. 

Mount  Carmel  is  a  ridge  about  twelve  miles 
long  extending  at  the  northwest  as  a  promontory 
into  the  Mediterranean  and  toward  the  southeast 
185 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

along  the  border  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  At 
the  Monastery  of  Elijah  the  ridge  rises  to  a  height 
of  558  feet,  but  at  the  highest  point  near  Esfiga, 
about  ten  miles  from  the  northwest  extremity,  the 
height  is  1810  feet.  This  mountain  was  considered 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  features  of  Israel. 
Isaiah  spoke  of  "the  excellency  of  Carmel,"  and 
Solomon  used  it  as  an  emblem  of  beauty  and  love- 
liness (Isa.  35:2;  S.  of  S.  7:5).  Many  parts  of 
Palestine  are  blessed  with  heavy  dews  to  compen- 
sate in  some  measure  for  the  lack  of  rain  during 
the  long  dry  season,  but  Mount  Carmel  is  dis- 
tinguished for  its  very  abundant  dews.  This  is 
about  the  only  portion  of  the  land  that  retains  its 
verdure  during  the  entire  year,  and  the  dews  con- 
tribute to  this  result. 

On  the  southeastern  extremity  of  Mount  Car- 
mel is  a  small  chapel  built  on  the  traditional  site 
of  the  test  to  prove  that  the  God  of  Israel  was  the 
true  God.  The  spot  is  called  El-Muhraka,  the 
place  of  burning.  It  was  probably  here  that  Elijah 
prayed,  and  in  answer  to  his  prayer,  fire  fell  from 
heaven  and  consumed  the  sacrifice,  the  wood,  the 
altar  and  the  water  in  the  trenches.  At  a  short 
distance  from  this  is  shown  the  traditional  place 
where  the  priests  of  Baal  were  slain.  From  this 
ISO 


.AIOrXT     CAUMKI.     KHOM      IH  K     SKA 


MOUNT   CAIiMKI.    1  liO.M    Till:    .SOITU 


HAIFA  AND  MOUNT  CARMEL 

summit  of  Mount  Carmel  the  Mediterranean  Sea 
is  plainly  seen  to  the  west,  and  to  the  east  one 
sees  Jezreel,  whither  Ahab  fled  after  the  test,  and 
the  mountains,  Gilboa  and  Little  Hermon,  lying 
beyond  the  plain  of  Esdraelon. 

One  afternoon  our  company  started  out  in  car- 
riages to  visit  Athlit,  a  place  on  the  coast  twelve 
miles  south  of  Haifa.  We  rode  along  the  sea- 
shore at  the  foot  of  the  promontory.  After  we  had 
gone  a  mile  or  two,  we  were  shown  caves  in  which 
it  is  supposed  Obadiah  hid  a  hundred  of  the  Lord's 
prophets  during  the  reign  of  Ahab.  It  seems  quite 
probable  that  this  was  the  place.  We  rode  near  the 
sea  the  entire  distance.  The  plain  between  the 
sea  and  Mount  Carmel  is  generally  well  cultivated 
and  productive.  I  saw  many  large  fields  of  melons 
and  other  vegetables.  In  these  fields  were  small 
shelters  made  by  setting  four  stakes  or  posts  in 
the  ground  as  supports,  and  putting  a  covering  of 
branches  over  the  top.  These  shelters,  or  lodges, 
were  occupied  by  those  who  seemed  to  be  guarding 
the  crops.  By  these  I  was  reminded  of  the  words 
of  the  prophet  who  speaks  of  a  ''lodge  in  a  garden 
of  cucumbers"  (Isa.  1:8). 

At  Athlit  we  saw  extensive  ruins  of  immense 
buildings  of  the  Crusader  period.    The  fortifica- 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

tions  were  erected  in  1218.  They  were  built  upon 
a  point  of  land  and  were  enclosed  on  three  sides 
by  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean.  There  was 
an  inner  wall  and  a  moat  outside  of  this,  which 
could  be  filled  with  water  from  the  sea.  There  was 
an  outer  wall  \\'hich  was  also  protected  by  a  moat. 
This  stronghold  was  called  Castellum  Perigrino- 
rum,  or  Castle  of  the  Pilgrims.  It  was  taken  by 
the  Moslems  in  1291.  We  went  over  the  ruins  and 
could  easily  imagine  the  solidity  of  the  stronghold 
of  which  they  are  the  remains.  We  found  the 
lower  chambers  of  some  of  the  ruins  occupied  by 
wretched-looking  inhabitants,  who  were  making 
their  homes  there. 

In  the  early  evening  after  our  return  from  Ath- 
lit  several  of  our  company  enjoyed  a  delightful 
swim  at  the  bathing-beach  near  the  hotel  in  Haifa. 

We  were  in  Haifa  on  Sunday.  I  had  seen  the 
sign,  ''Evangelical  Mission,"  upon  a  building  in 
the  city  on  Saturday  and  decided  to  make  inquiry 
there  for  a  service  on  Sunday.  In  company  with 
my  friend.  Professor  Luckey,  I  went  to  the  place 
where  we  found  an  aged  man,  a  converted  Jew,  in 
charge.  He  was  converted  in  a  revival  in  Ireland 
in  1859,  and  had  been  laboring  among  his  people 
for  many  years.  The  mission  with  which  he  was 
188 


HAIFA  AND  MOUNT  CAEMEL 

connected  was  carrying  on  medical  work  and 
school  work  among  the  natives.  Our  entire  party 
attended  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England, 
where  a  brother  of  one  of  our  guides  preached. 


1S9 


XXVIII 
FROM  CANAAN  TO  EGYPT 

The  journey  of  our  party  from  Canaan  to  Egypt 
was  very  different  from  that  of  Jacob  and  his  fam- 
ily three  thousand  six  hundred  years  ago.  The} 
made  their  toilsome  journey  by  land  on  foot,  on 
beasts  of  burden  and  in  wagons.  We  made  our 
journey  by  water  with  all  the  conveniences  of  mod- 
ern travel,  yet  we  could  not  help  thinking  of 
Jacob's  removal  to  Egypt. 

We  left  the  hotel  at  Haifa  in  carriages  at  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening  to  go  to  the  seashore.  As 
there  is  no  harbor  here  for  large  boats,  we  were 
taken  in  rowboats  out  to  where  the  steamer  Tew- 
fikieh  dropped  anchor.  We  had  very  comfortable 
accommodations  and  good  service  on  this  boat. 
We  were  to  sail  on  this  steamer  to  Port  Said.  It 
had  been  arranged  by  our  company  to  have  a  study 
of  the  Sunday-school  lesson  and  a  sermon  in  the 
evening  on  board  the  Tewfikieh,  but  we  did  not 
get  through  with  dinner  until  nearly  nine  o'clock 

160 


FKOM    CAXAAN    TO    EGYPT 

and  there  seemed  to  be  no  suitable  time  or  place 
for  the  sernce. 

I  was  glad  to  be  turning  homeward.  I  had  en- 
joyed every  hour  of  sight-seeing  and  rest  in  the 
Holy  Land,  and  mv  mind  was  filled  with  the  scenes 
and  memories  that  came  to  me,  but  I  was  ready  to 
bid  farewell  for  a  time  to  Oriental  life. 

One  of  our  company,  Mr.  Kistler,  met  with  an 
accident  after  dinner  which  might  have  proved 
serious,  but  providentially  his  injury  was  slight. 
In  some  way,  while  standing  on  the  promenade 
deck,  he  lost  his  footing  and  fell  down  the  stairs 
to  the  deck  below.  He  was  picked  up  unconscious 
and  taken  to  his  room  where  he  was  attended  by 
the  boat's  physician.  Late  in  the  evening  he  re- 
gained consciousness,  and  as  he  steadily  improved, 
his  fellow  travelers  were  much  relieved. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  were  aroused  by  a 
considerable  commotion  on  board,  and  the  noise 
and  confusion  increased  until  after  the  steamer 
dropped  anchor.  We  were  off  Jaffa,  and  the  boat- 
men were  there  in  large  numbers,  transporting  pas- 
sengers with  their  baggage  from  the  city  to  the 
steamer,  and  to  transport  others  to  shore.  T\Tien 
we  knew  that  we  were  off  Jaffa,  we  understood 
what  all  the  noise  meant,  for  we  had  learned 

181 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

during  the  past  few  weeks  something  of  Oriental 
customs.  The  Oriental  does  indeed  make  much 
ado  about  even  ordinary  matters.  The  water  was 
rather  rough  and  some  of  the  passengers  were  sea- 
sick. 

We  lay  at  anchor  off  Jaffa  until  six  o'clock  in 
the  ev^iing.  A  crowd  of  people  came  on  board  so 
that  the  boat  was  well  filled.  Among  them  were 
several  English-speaking  persons,  and  it  seemed 
good  to  us  to  hear  our  own  language  spoken  by 
others  besides  our  own  party.  Just  before  leaving 
Jaffa  mail  was  brought  on  board  and  I  was  happy 
to  receive  a  letter  from  my  daughter  at  home. 
There  was  a  cargo  of  cattle  on  board  and  some  of 
them  were  wretchedly  poor.  One  died  and  was 
hauled  up  out  of  the  hold,  let  down  into  the  sea 
and  towed  to  Jaffa. 

At  half  past  seven  the  next  morning  we  reached 
Port  Said.  We  were  up  early,  for  we  expected  to 
land  much  earlier  than  we  did.  It  took  a  long 
time  to  comply  with  the  legal  requirements  for 
going  ashore.  We  were  held  on  board  for  an  hour 
or  two  waiting  for  the  required  medical  examina- 
tion. While  we  were  waiting,  we  had  an  opportu- 
nity to  watch  the  process  of  unloading  the  cattle 
from  our  steamer.  Two  large  barges  were  brought 
192 


LXLOAIJIXG    CATXr.E     FROM     STEAMER 


PLOWING     IN     EGYPT 


FROM    CANAAN   TO    EGYPT 

alongside  the  boat  and  made  fast.  A  sling  was  let 
down  into  the  hold  where  the  cattle  were  and  men 
there  placed  it  about  the  body  of  an  animal.  When 
it  was  secured  in  position,  the  signal  was  given 
and  the  hoisting  machine  drew  it  up  and  swung 
it  over  the  barge  where  it  was  let  down  and  re- 
leased. The  boatmen  were  busy  unloading  other 
portions  of  the  cargo,  and  the  scene  about  the  boat 
was  a  lively  one. 

At  last  we  were  assembled  in  the  dining-room 
to  pass  the  medical  examination.  This  was  ap- 
parently a  very  formal  and  empty  affair.  As  one's 
name  was  called,  he  passed  by  the  doctor,  who 
took  hold  of  his  wrist  and  held  it  for  about  a 
second  and  called  for  the  next  on  the  list.  The 
doctor  probably  used  his  eyes  to  help  in  detecting 
any  diseased  person.  The  cost  to  each  tourist 
for  this  examination  was  the  equivalent  of  thirty- 
two  cents.  Our  steamer  did  not  draw  up  to  the 
dock  and  we  were  taken  off  in  rowboats.  There 
were  fourteen  in  the  boat  in  which  I  was  taken 
ashore,  besides  the  boatmen,  and  the  load  was  so 
heavy  that  the  stern  was  brought  down  almost  to 
the  water;  but  the  sea  was  smooth  and  we  landed 
without  any  mishap.  We  experienced  but  little 
diflSculty  in  passing  customs.  Two  only  of  our 
193 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

party  were  called  upon  to  open  their  suitcases. 
One  of  these  seemed  picked  out  at  each  custom- 
house through  which  we  passed  to  have  his  bag- 
gage examined.  There  must  have  been  something 
about  the  man  or  his  suitcase  that  gave  the  in- 
spector reason  to  think  he  might  have  tobacco  or 
spirits  among  his  effects,  but  the  doctor  was  en- 
tirely innocent  of  any  such  conduct.  The  officers 
are  very  careful  in  their  search  for  these  articles. 

The  party  walked  to  the  Continental  Hotel 
where  we  were  to  have  lunch,  it  being  but  a  few 
blocks  from  the  custom-house.  The  lunch  was  served 
with  much  style.  At  the  hotel  we  were  entertained 
with  excellent  music,  rendered  by  a  fine  company 
of  musicians,  and  when  they  had  finished  their 
performance,  they  solicited  contributions  from  us. 
An  acrobat  came  in  front  of  the  hotel  and  per- 
formed very  skilfully.  He  did  not  do  this  wholly 
for  his  own  amusement,  for  he  came  around  and 
asked  with  much  persistence  for  money.  Sellers 
of  curios  and  souvenirs  thronged  about  us.  They 
seemed  to  recognize  tourists  at  sight  and  a  long 
way  off.  They  have  a  way  of  not  understanding 
the  traveler  when  he  says  no  to  their  persistent 
efforts  to  sell  him  goods. 

Port  Said  is  a  busy  city  with  many  fine  build- 

194 


FROM   CANAAN    TO   EGYPT 

ings.  It  stands  at  the  northern  terminus  of  the 
Suez  Canal,  and  naturally  has  a  population  made 
up  of  very  many  different  nationalities.  It  has 
been  said  that  this  is  the  most  wicked  city  on 
earth,  for  the  worst  elements  of  all  nations  have 
congregated  here.  In  our  short  stay  in  the  place 
we  had  no  reason  to  conclude  that  Port  Said  was 
excessively  wicked.  We  were  in  Egypt  and  were 
desirous  of  visiting  the  scenes  of  the  servitude  of 
ancient  Israel,  hence  our  sta^^  at  Port  Said  was 
short  and  we  were  off  for  Cairo. 


195 


XXIX 

THE  LAND  OF  THE  NILE 

Our  interest  in  Egypt  is  great  largely  because 
of  its  close  connection  at  many  points  with  scrip- 
ture history.  Abraham  was  for  a  time  in  Egypt. 
Isaac  was  forbidden  to  go  into  that  country.  Jo- 
seph was  sold  into  Egyptian  slavery  and  became 
the  means  of  the  preservation  of  the  Egyptians 
from  death  by  starvation  and  also  saved  his  father, 
Jacob,  and  his  family  from  death.  Egypt  was  the 
scene  of  the  enslavement  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  Egypt  became  a  name  for  oppression  and  also 
for  worldliness,  or  enmity  to  God.  The  flight  of 
Joseph  and  Mary  with  the  child  Jesus  to  Egypt 
gives  us  an  added  interest  in  that  land. 

Before  taking  our  journey  from  Port  Said  to 
Cairo  we  desire  to  study  for  a  little  while  the  land 
of  the  Pharaohs.  Egypt  is  a  country  of  large  area 
if  we  take  into  consideration  the  entire  region 
which  is  under  Egyptian  control.  Koughly  speak- 
ing, we  may  say  that  Egypt  is  five  hundred  miles 
196 


THE   LAND    OF   THE    NILE 

in  extent  from  east  to  west  and  as  far  from  north 
to  south,  but  the  territory  for  a  distance  of  two 
thousand  miles  south  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea 
is  held  by  the  Egyptians. 

The  country  is  usually  considered  as  being  di- 
vided into  two  parts,  Lower  Egj'pt  and  Upper 
Egypt.  Lower  Egypt  is  the  northern  division  and 
includes  the  delta  of  the  Nile.  It  also  includes  the 
Suez  Canal  and  the  Sinai  peninsula,  and  contains 
the  cities,  Alexandria,  Port  Said,  Damietta  and 
Cairo.  Upper  Egypt  includes  the  territory  to  the 
south  of  Cairo.  If  we  take  into  consideration  the 
Egyptian  Sudan,  we  would  place  the  total  area  of 
Egypt  at  1,350,000  square  miles.  The  population 
of  Lower  and  Upper  Egypt  is  about  ten  million. 

With  this  vast  extent  of  territory  Egypt  has 
but  a  comparatively  small  area  of  land  capable  of 
being  cultivated.  There  may  be  ten  thousand 
square  miles  of  tillable  land.  The  greater  part  of 
this  is  in  the  delta  of  the  Nile.  South  of  Cairo  the 
valley  of  the  Nile  is  narrow  in  most  places,  but  the 
Fayum  district  has  a  large  area  of  especially  pro- 
ductive land. 

From  very  ancient  times  the  Nile  valley  has 
been  made  to  yield  large  harvests.  It  is  produc- 
tive because  of  the  river  which  furnishes  both  the 

197 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

water  and  the  soil.  It  is  no  mistake  to  call  Egypt 
*'The  Land  of  the  Nile."  This  river,  which  con- 
stantly provides  water  for  purposes  of  irrigation, 
makes  annual  additions  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 
Every  overflow  leaves  a  deposit  that  enriches  the 
soil  and  makes  large  harvests  possible. 

The  water  in  the  Nile  begins  to  rise  about  the 
middle  of  June  and  continues  until  October.  High 
water  reaches  a  mark  at  Cairo  of  twenty-five  or 
twenty-six  feet  above  the  low-water  mark.  If  the 
flood  does  not  reach  a  height  of  twenty  feet  above 
low  water,  the  usual  large  harvests  are  not  ex- 
pected. While  we  were  in  Cairo  we  visited  the 
Nilometer.  This  is  a  carefully  constructed  device 
for  measuring  the  exact  height  of  the  water  of  the 
Nile,  and  the  readings  are  given  out  from  day  to 
day  for  the  information  of  the  inhabitants.  They 
are  watched  with  interest,  for  the  prosperity  of 
the  country  depends  on  the  rise  of  the  water  of 
the  river.  The  low-water  level  is  reached  toward 
the  end  of  May. 

Almost  innumerable  canals  and  ditches  are 
made  in  the  Nile  delta  by  which  the  flood  of  the 
river  is  distributed  throughout  the  region  for  pur- 
poses of  irrigation.  Many  parts  of  the  valley  are 
covered  with  water  in  flood  time.  Channels  are 
198 


THE    LAND    OF    THE    NILE 

made  leading  from  the  river,  and  from  these  water 
is  raised  to  a  level  sufficiently  high  to  flow  over 
the  fields  as  it  is  needed  for  the  crops.  Thus 
throughout  the  year  moisture  is  furnished  for  the 
growing  crops. 

Enormous  dams  have  been  made  along  the 
course  of  the  Nile  to  regulate  the  flow  of  water, 
so  that  there  may  be  a  constant  supply.  The  dam 
at  Assuan  was  completed  in  1902,  and  it  creates  a 
reservoir  one  hundred  forty-four  miles  long  and 
one  and  a  quarter  miles  wide.  These  reservoirs 
add  enormously  to  the  productiveness  of  several 
millions  of  acres. 

In  districts  where  the  water  overflows  the  land 
in  flood  time  two  or  three  crops  are  raised  during 
the  year  on  the  same  ground.  It  was  the  middle 
of  June  when  I  went  through  a  portion  of  Egypt 
and  I  saw  great  stretches  of  land  upon  which  were 
abundant  crops  of  cotton  and  wheat.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  see  the  mode  of  pumping  the  water  em- 
ployed in  that  country.  This  work  is  largely  done 
by  oxen.  Keservoirs  are  constructed  and  so  con- 
nected by  channels  with  the  Nile  that  water  flows 
into  them.  A  large  wheel  is  made  and  is  placed 
vertically  so  that  its  rim  dips  into  the  reservoir. 
A  sweep  is  so  connected  with  this  wheel  that  when 
199 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

it  is  drawn  around  by  the  oxen,  it  makes  the  wheel 
revolve.  Water-pots  are  fastened  to  the  rim  of  the 
wheel  in  such  a  way  that,  as  they  pass  into  the 
water,  they  are  filled,  and  at  a  certain  point  of 
the  revolution  of  the  wheel  they  are  emptied  into 
a  trough,  from  which  the  water  can  be  turned  into 
the  irrigation  system.  Toward  evening  one  can 
see  many  of  these  water-raising  wheels  in  motion. 

The  journey  of  our  party  from  Port  Said  to 
Cairo  was  full  of  interest.  We  went  by  an  express 
train  and  at  a  rapid  rate  of  speed.  For  many  miles 
our  course  lay  along  the  Suez  Canal.  The  canal 
was  in  sight  a  part  of  the  time.  In  some  places  we 
looked  out  upon  a  bank  of  sand  above  the  top  of 
which  the  masts  of  boats  could  be  seen. 

For  some  distance  the  country  was  a  sandy 
waste,  except  where  water  could  be  secured'  for 
irrigation.  When  we  had  gone  about  fifty  miles, 
we  entered  what  was  known  in  Bible  times  as  the 
land  of  Goshen.  This  is  a  beautiful  and  productive 
region  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  desolate  waste 
through  which  we  had  just  passed.  Water  is  avail- 
able there  from  the  east  branch  of  the  Nile's  mouth 
for  irrigation  purposes,  and  the  land  of  Goshen 
is  a  veritable  garden.  I  had  read  about  the  fertil- 
ity of  the  Nile  valley,  but  I  was  not  fully  prepared 
200 


THE   LAND    OF   THE    NILE 

to  see  such  fruitfulness  as  was  shown  by  the  rich 
growth  of  vegetation. 

From  that  point  on  to  Cairo  we  saw  a  succes- 
sion of  fields  of  cotton,  wheat  and  other  crops.  It 
seemed  entirely  reasonable  that  this  region  should 
have  been  called  by  Pharaoh  the  best  of  the  land 
of  Egypt.  We  were  in  the  country  where  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  were  settled  and  prospered  and 
where  later  they  were  enslaved  and  endured  bitter 
oppression. 


201 


XXX 

A   MOSLEM   STKONGHOLD 

We  arrived  at  Cairo  after  a  journey  of  one  hun- 
dred fifty  miles  from  Port  Said.  The  carriage 
drive  from  the  station  to  our  hotel  had  the  effect 
of  opening  my  eyes  to  the  importance  of  Cairo. 
I  had  not  expected  to  see  such  substantial  and 
beautiful  modern  buildings  as  make  up  a  large 
part  of  the  citj.  Many  of  them  are  such  as  may  be 
found  in  a  progressive  European  city. 

Many  of  the  streets  are  wide,  well  paved  and 
clean.  There  is  evidence  of  well-organized  govern- 
ment and  prosperity,  and  the  city  in  large  part  has 
modern  improvements;  yet  there  is  the  old  Cairo, 
in  which  the  streets  are  narrow  and  crooked,  and 
the  buildings,  shops  and  general  appearance  are 
entirely  Oriental. 

Cairo  has  a  population  of  800,000.  It  is  lo- 
cated on  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile  nine  miles  south 
of  the  place  where  the  river  divides  into  two 
branches  to  form  the  delta.  The  inhabitants  are 
202 


CAIRO     FROM     CITADEL 


CAIRO    WATER    CARRIER 


A   MOSLEM    STRONGHOLD 

mostly  uative  Egyptians,  but  there  are  tweuty 
thousand  foreigners,  of  whom  many  are  Euro- 
peans. Cairo  is  the  seat  of  government  of  Egypt. 
The  country  is  under  the  protection  of  England 
and  the  higher  offices  are  filled  by  Englishmen. 
The  city  is  becoming  a  winter  resort  for  Euro- 
peans. 

The  inhabitants  are  mainly  Moslems.  There 
are  more  than  one  hundred  fifty  mosques  in  Cairo. 
As  we  looked  from  the  Citadel  over  the  city,  we 
could  see  minarets  and  prayer  towers  in  every  di- 
rection. As  Mecca  is  the  religious  center  of  Mo- 
hammedanism and  Constantinople  is  the  political 
center,  so  Cairo  is  the  educational  center. 

We  visited  three  of  the  many  mosques.  The  one 
upon  the  Citadel  was  the  most  gorgeous.  It  is 
built  after  the  plan  of  the  Mosque  of  Sophia  in 
Constantinople.  It  is  constructed  largely  of  ala- 
baster and  is  highly  artistic  and  rich.  Attendants 
were  in  the  mosque  who  were  eager  to  sell  us 
articles  made  of  alabaster  as  souvenirs.  Before 
entering  these  mosques  we  were  under  the  neces- 
sity of  putting  on  the  slippers  which  are  provided 
for  the  purpose,  lest  we  should  profane  the  sacred 
places. 

I  was  desirous  uf  visiting  the  LTniversity  of 
203 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

Cairo  of  which  I  had  heard  much.  I  had  read  of 
the  great  numbers  in  attendance  and  of  the  many 
who  went  out  from  there  into  various  parts  of  the 
world  to  make  converts  to  Mohammedanism. 

This  great  institution  is  a  mosque  or  connected 
with  a  mosque  and  is  called  El-Azhar.  Before  we 
could  enter  we  had  to  cover  our  shoes  with  the 
customary  slippers.  There  is  an  extensive  portico 
about  the  principal  building  and  here  I  saw  many 
students  at  their  work.  I  was  not  prepared  to  see 
the  system  of  education  that  is  in  use  here.  Of 
course  there  are  no  girls  or  women  in  this  institu- 
tion, for  Islam  has  only  a  subordinate  place  for 
women.  The  students  are  males  from  six  years  of 
age  up  to  men  of  mature  years.  We  were  told  that 
there  were  in  all  thirteen  thousand  students  in  at- 
tendance at  some  time  during  the  year  and  that 
six  thousand  live  in  the  school.  They  come  from 
various  countries  and  therefore  apartments  are  al- 
lotted to  dififerent  nationalities,  so  that  students 
of  the  same  nation  or  country  may  be  together. 

We  saw  nothing  that  would  correspond  closely 
to  our  recitation  or  lecture  rooms  in  our  Western 
schools.  In  the  porticos  and  in  the  large  rooms 
which  we  entered  we  saw  the  students  sitting  on 
the  pavement,  holding  leaves  of  a  book  in  their 
204 


A   MOSLEM    STRONGHOLD 

hands  and  swaying  back  and  forth  as  they  memo- 
rized their  lessons.  It  is  supposed  that  the  sway- 
ing and  rythmical  motion  of  the  body  is  an  aid  to 
committing  their  lessons  to  memory  and  helps  to 
keep  the  students  awake.  Their  one  subject  for 
study  is  the  Koran.  This  they  commit  to  memory 
and  have  it  explained  to  them.  It  requires  twelve 
years  of  study  of  this  book  to  render  a  student 
capable  of  going  forth  as  a  Moslem  priest. 

I  saw  here  and  there  a  group  of  students  aoout 
an  instructor  who  was  explaining  to  them  the 
meaning  of  passages  of  the  Koran  and  unfolding 
the  doctrines  of  Mohammedanism.  Many  of  the 
boys  and  men  had  little  heaps  of  food  upon  their 
mats,  so  that  they  could  eat  when  they  were 
hungry.  I  saw  several  of  the  students  lying  asleep 
upon  their  mats. 

There  are  betw^een  two  and  three  hundred  in- 
structors in  this  great  school.  They  receive  no 
salary  and  support  themselves  from  their  own  re- 
sources or  by  outside  labor. 

I  visited  the  library  of  this  great  center  of  Mo- 
hammedan learning.  There  were  many  volumes  of 
dififerent  sizes,  shapes  and  bindings.  Some  were 
plain  and  others  were  elaborate  and  elegant.  The 
library  was  in  keeping  with  the  instruction 
205 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

given.  It  was  a  collection  of  copies  of  the  Koran 
and  commentaries  on  that  book.  There  were  no 
books  aside  from  these.  The  great  Moslems  copy 
the  Koran  and  leave  their  work  there.  We  saw 
some  very  large  and  richly  and  beautifully  il- 
luminated texts  of  the  Koran.  In  one  case  was  a 
copy  made  by  a  devout  follower  of  Mohammed, 
who  had  written  the  whole  of  the  Koran  upon 
twelve  pages  not  larger  than  seven  by  ten  inches. 
It  was  written  in  Arabic  and  the  characters  were 
exceedingly  small.  The  man  became  blind  as  a 
consequence  of  making  this  copy. 

In  Cairo,  this  stronghold  of  Islam,  there  are 
influences  at  work  which  are  proving  effectual  in 
breaking  down  to  some  extent,  the  hold  of  Moham- 
medanism. Dr.  Zwemer  spoke  at  the  World's  Sun- 
day-school convention  in  Zurich,  Switzerland,  in 
July,  1913,  the  following  memorable  words : 

''The  Moslem  problem  is  being  solved  before  our 
eyes :  'That  the  proudest  man  in  the  world  should 
accept  that  which  he  abhors  from  the  man  whom 
he  despises.'  Come  to  Cairo  and  I  will  show  you 
them  doing  it.  At  the  American  mission  all  last 
winter  a  hall  holding  six  or  seven  hundred  peo- 
ple was  jammed  to  the  doors,  with  the  police  hold- 
ing back  a  crowd  outside.  In  one  seat  there  was  a 
206 


A   MOSLEM    STKOXGHOLD 

Moslem  from  the  University  of  Cairo,  the  proudest 
man  in  the  capital  of  Islam.  In  the  pulpit  stood 
a  converted  Moslem,  in  his  hand  the  Book  of  books, 
and  on  his  lips  the  message  of  life.  Not  one  night 
only,  but  for  scores  of  nights  for  a  number  of  years 
that  room  has  been  filled  with  the  proudest  men  in 
the  world,  listening  to  the  message  they  once  de- 
spised, from  the  lips  of  one  whom  they  would 
naturally  abhor." 

While  in  Cairo  I  visited  a  Protestant  mission 
school  where  hundreds  of  boys  and  girls  from  Mo- 
hammedan, Greek,  Eoman  and  Coptic  families 
were  being  trained  in  Western  learning  and  were 
taught  true  Christianity.  The  work  done  by  evan- 
gelical Christian  missions  is  far-reaching  in  its 
effects  and  has  its  bearing  upon  the  social,  domes- 
tic and  religious  life  of  Egypt.  I  visited  also  the 
American  College  in  the  city.  This  institution  is 
for  girls,  and  Mohammedanism  ignores  the  needs 
of  girls  and  does  not  educate  them.  The  school  is 
filled  with  bright,  attentive  girls,  mostly  from  Mos- 
lem families.  A  Christian  homelikeness  pervades 
the  place,  and  the  contrast  between  this  institu- 
tion and  the  great  Moslem  university  is  striking. 
Girls  are  being  trained  to  go  out  and  build  up 
real  homes  in  that  land. 

207 


GLIMPSES    OP    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

An  efifort  is  being  made  to  establish  a  great 
Protestant  Christian  university  in  Cairo  that  shall 
compete  with  the  Moslem  institution  and  counter- 
act its  influence,  and  no  more  worthy  cause  can 
command  the  attention  of  the  Christian  world. 


208 


XXXI 
THE   CHILD    IN    EGYPT 

Egypt  has  an  attraction  for  us  because  it 
touches  upon  the  life  of  our  Lord.  Jesus  was  born 
at  a  time  when  there  was  opposition  to  His  mis- 
sion; and  indeed  there  has  been  no  time  in  the 
world's  history  since  man's  fall  that  His  ministry 
<rould  have  been  universally  welcomed,  but  in  the 
fulness  of  time  He  came. 

It  was  a  wonderful  train  of  providences  that 
led  to  the  residence  of  Joseph  and  Mary  and  Jesus 
in  Egypt.  The  wise  men  from  the  East  had  in 
some  mysterious  manner  been  convinced  of  the  fact 
that  the  Messiah  had  come  to  earth  as  a  child. 
Their  desire  to  find  Him  and  adore  Him  was  so 
great  as  to  lead  them  to  undertake  the  long  jour- 
ney to  Jerusalem.  They  were  encouraged  in  their 
purpose  by  the  miraculous  appearance  of  the  star 
to  guide  them.  Their  inquiry  of  Herod  at  Jeru- 
salem for  the  new-born  King  excited  the  fears  of 
that  ruler  and  led  him  to  take  immediate  steps  to 
209 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

destroy  the  infant  Christ,  whom  he  looked  upon  as 
a  rival. 

We  have  the  story  of  the  flight  into  Egypt  to 
escape  the  destruction  that  Herod  had  decreed, 
and  Egypt  became  a  safe  refuge  for  the  favored 
and  threatened  family.  As  Joseph  had  been 
warned  in  a  dream  to  flee  with  his  dear  ones  into 
Egypt,  so  after  Herod's  death  an  angel  appeared 
to  him  with  the  command  to  return  with  Mary 
and  Jesus  into  the  land  of  Israel,  for  there  was  no 
one  to  seek  the  life  of  the  Child. 

In  this  flight  into  Egypt  and  the  residence 
there,  together  with  the  return  to  Israel,  these 
W'ords  of  the  Lord,  spoken  by  the  prophet  Hosea, 
^ere  fulfilled :  "When  Israel  was  a  child,  then  I 
loved  him,  and  called  my  son  out  of  Egypt"  (Ho- 
sea 11:1;  Matt.  2:15). 

One  afternoon  while  in  Cairo  our  party  went 
Through  the  old  portion  of  the  city  and  visited  a 
Coptic  church,  parts  of  which  had  probably  been 
standing  a  thousand  years.  This  was  an  inter- 
esting place  to  us  because  of  the  tradition  which 
the  Coptic  Christians  hold,  that  the  church  is 
built  over  the  spot  where  Joseph,  Mary  and  Jesus 
lived  during  their  stay  in  Egypt.  Since  Palestine 
has  so  many  places  esteemed  sacred  because  of 
210 


THE    CHILD    IN    EGYPT 

Christ's  presence  there,  it  is  not  strange  that  in 
Egypt  there  are  also  places  esteemed  sacred  on  the 
same  grounds.  This  old  church  stands  as  a  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  Jesus  spent  some  time  in 
Egypt,  whether  it  marks  the  exact  place  of  His 
residence  or  not. 

The  Coptic  Christians  constitute  a  numerous 
body  in  Egypt.  There  are  now  about  750,000  of 
them.  They  are  descendants  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians and  are  a  bright  and  intelligent  people. 
After  they  were  conquered  by  the  Mohammedans 
in  the  seventh  century  their  own  language  fell  into 
disuse  and  they  adopted  the  Arabic,  the  language 
of  their  conquerors. 

In  their  religious  forms  and  doctrines  they  do 
not  differ  greatly  from  the  Roman  Catholics.  Their 
highest  official  is  the  Patriarch  of  Alexandria, 
who,  however,  lives  in  Cairo,  and  they  have  twelve 
bishops.  This  sect  was  formed  after  the  Christian 
Council  of  Chalcedon  in  451,  which  accepted  the 
doctrine  that  Christ  has  a  divine  nature  and 
a  human  nature  also.  The  Coptic  Christians  hold 
that  He  has  but  one  nature.  The  Coptics  have  an 
interest  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  in 
Jerusalem. 

Extravagant  claims  are  made  in  Egypt,  as  well 

211 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

as  in  Palestine,  respecting  the  places  where  Jesus 
was.  A  small  party  of  us  rode  one  morning  from 
Cairo  in  a  carriage  in  a  northeasterly  direction  to 
the  site  of  the  ancient  Heliopolis.  On  the  way  we 
came  to  a  place  which  is  claimed  to  be  of  great 
historic  interest.  It  is  controlled  by  the  Roman 
Catholics.  It  is  called  the  Virgin's  Well.  In  this 
enclosure  is  a  sycamore  tree,  which,  it  is  said,  is  a 
shoot  from  a  tree  that  was  here  in  Christ's  time. 
The  attendants  showed  us  a  part  of  an  old  tree 
which  they  said  was  the  remains  of  the  tree  under 
which  Joseph,  Mary  and  Jesus  lodged  for  several 
days  during  their  sojourn  in  Egypt.  There  is  a 
spring  close  by  where  tradition  declares  that  Mary 
washed  the  garments  of  the  child  Jesus.  This 
shows  how  ready  many  persons  are  to  accept  as 
true  what  some  one  suggests  as  a  possibility. 

Our  ride  to  Heliopolis,  or  city  of  the  sun,  was 
over  a  fine  road,  through  a  rich  and  beautiful  coun- 
try. The  morning  air  was  cool  and  the  excursion 
was  a  delightful  one.  Our  objective  point  was  the 
Obelisk  of  Heliopolis.  This  stands  in  a  field  in 
which  crops  were  growing  when  I  was  there.  It 
is  a  solid  granite  shaft  sixty  feet  high  and  six  feet 
square  at  the  base  and  four  feet  square  at  the 
place  near  the  top  where  it  slants  sharply  to  its 
212 


ORELTSK   AT  ITELTOrOLTS 


THE    CHILD    IN    EGYPT 

apex.  It  must  weigh  two  hundred  tons.  No  one 
knows  by  what  mechanical  devices  it  was  brought 
to  the  place  nor  how  it  was  raised  to  its  present 
position.  It  has  stood  there  for  thousands  of 
years.  Some  one  has  facetiously  remarked  that 
Joseph,  the  son  of  Jacob,  courted  the  daughter  of 
the  priest  of  On  in  the  shadow  of  this  obelisk. 
Many  Egyptian  obelisks  have  been  taken  from  their 
original  places,  transported  to  cities  of  the  West 
and  set  up  and  viewed  as  objects  of  great  interest. 

On  our  return  trip  to  Cairo  we  rode  through 
the  new  Heliopolis.  This  is  remarkable  for  its 
magnificent  hotels  and  its  elegant  mansions.  It 
is  a  favorite  winter  resort  for  w^ealthy  Europeans. 

I  mention  one  other  tradition  in  connection 
with  Cairo  and  the  Nile.  Our  company  crossed 
a  branch  of  the  river  in  a  ferry-boat  to  the  Island 
of  Khoda.  We  were  told  that  it  was  close  to 
where  we  stood  on  the  shore  of  the  island  that  the 
infant  Moses  was  hidden  in  the  river  among  the 
rushes.  There  was  no  exact  place  pointed  out  to 
us,  and  we  should  have  accepted  with  much  hesi- 
tancy any  statement  touching  that  point. 

We  were  satisfied  to  be  in  the  country  which 
is  of  great  interest  to  Bible  readers  from  the  fact 
that  Joseph,  Moses  and  Jesus  were  there. 

213 


XXXII 
A    TRIP   TO    THE    PYRAMIDS 

We  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  pyramids  of 
Gizeh  as  we  approached  Cairo  on  the  train  from 
Port  Said,  and  now  we  were  to  visit  them.  Our 
company  of  twenty-six  with  competent  guides 
boarded  an  electric  tram  and  rode  southward 
after  crossing  the  Nile.  The  distance  to  Gizeh 
is  about  ten  miles.  We  were  close  to  the  river 
all  the  way  and  saw  the  growing  crops,  the  homes 
and  manner  of  work  of  the  people,  and  the  beasts 
of  burden  in  use  in  Egypt,  the  camel,  the  donkey, 
the  ox  and  the  cow.  The  cattle  of  Egypt  are  large 
and  slightly  resemble  the  buffalo  in  appearance. 

The  pyramids  are  half  a  mile  from  the  station 
and  camels  and  donkeys  were  provided  to  convey 
us  thither,  and  nearly  every  member  of  the  com- 
pany took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  ride 
upon  the  back  of  a  camel.  There  is  much  sand 
about  the  pyramids  and  the  road  to  them  is  not 
especially  easy  to  travel. 

214 


9 


TOUKlSr   ON    CAWKL 


«i^!|L.  *•  -' 


;-.*i/^ 


THE    NILE 


A    TRIP    TO    THE    PYRAMIDS 

There  are  three  pyramids  in  this  group,  the 
largest  of  which  is  the  Great  Pyramid,  or  the 
Pyramid  of  Cheops.  I  had  read  and  studied 
about  these  remains  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  civi- 
lization and  was  prepared  to  look  upon  a  huge 
structure,  but  the  sight  filled  my  highest  expecta- 
tions. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Mle  more  than  seventy 
pyramids  and  ruins  of  pyramids  have  been  found. 
These  stand  as  monuments  to  the  memory  of  the 
kings  who  built  them,  and  represent  almost  untold 
labor  and  expense.  A  king  of  Egypt  was  largely 
engaged  during  his  lifetime  in  preparing  his  monu- 
ment and  final  resting-place.  These  pyramids  are 
marvels  of  engineering  skill  when  we  consider  the 
rudeness  of  the  times  in  which  the  work  was  done. 
The  Great  Pyramid  covers  an  area  of  thirteen 
acres  and  was  built  to  a  height  of  four  hundred 
eighty  feet,  containing  ninety  million  cubic  feet 
of  solid  masonry.  For  a  foundation  an  excavation 
was  made  several  feet  into  the  solid  rock.  The 
sepulchral  chamber  was  constructed  and  enclosed 
by  immense  blocks  of  granite.  A  passageway  was 
left  less  than  four  feet  square  connecting  with  this 
chamber  from  the  outside,  and  through  this 
the  remains  of  the  monarch  were  to  be  taken  to 
215 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

their  final  resting-place,  after  which  the  passage 
was  to  be  sealed.  If  the  pyramid  was  not  com- 
pleted at  the  king's  death,  the  work  ceased  and 
was  to  be  forever  unfinished. 

It  is  difl&cult  to  grasp  the  magnitude  of  the 
Great  Pyramid.  If  built  with  perpendicular  sides 
upon  a  forty-acre  farm,  the  solid  mass  would 
reach  a  height  of  fifty  feet.  If  built  upon  a  site 
covering  three  and  a  half  acres,  it  would  reach  a 
height  about  fifty  feet  greater  than  the  Washing- 
ton monument.  It  is  said  that  one  hundred  thou- 
sand men  were  employed  for  twenty  years  in  its 
construction. 

The  granite  blocks  used  in  the  pyramid  are 
about  three  feet  in  length  on  each  edge.  Each  suc- 
ceeding course  is  laid  in  from  the  edge  of  the  lower 
one,  so  that  a  ledge  is  left,  thus  forming  steps 
three  feet  high  from  the  base  to  the  summit.  The 
opening  into  the  sepulchral  chamber  is  on  the  west 
side  and  about  twenty  feet  above  the  present  level 
of  the  ground  around  it. 

Several  of  our  party  climbed  to  the  summit  of 
this  marvelous  structure.  This  was  no  easy  task 
for  those  who  were  not  in  training  for  such  an 
undertaking.  There  were  many  Arab  guides 
about  the  pyramids  to  assist  any  who  wished  to 
210 


A    TRIP   TO    THE    PYRAMIDS 

make  the  ascent.  It  is  customary  for  each  climber 
to  have  two  guides  to  assist  him.  Each  step  is 
three  feet  high  and  the  ledge  is  not  very  wide,  so 
the  help  of  strong  men  is  desirable.  The  tourist 
has  one  on  each  side.  They  climb  to  the  ledge 
above  and  pull  the  climber  up  after  them.  The 
view  from  the  top  of  the  pyramid  is  fine  and  worth 
the  effort  necessary  to  enjoy  it. 

The  descent  is  about  as  tiresome  as  the  ascent. 
The  climber  is  likely  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  effort 
for  a  few  days.  These  Arab  guides  are  strong  and 
quick  in  their  movements.  One  of  them  surprised 
our  party  by  running  down  from  the  summit  of 
the  Great  Pyramid  and  up  to  the  top  of  a  smaller 
pyramid  a  short  distance  away  in  less  than  eight 
minutes. 

A  few  rods  from  the  Great  Pyramid  stands  one 
of  those  mysterious  Egyptian  objects,  the  Sphinx. 
It  has  the  face  of  a  human  being  and  the  body  of 
a  lion.  Its  significance  has  never  been  satisfac- 
torily explained.  Near  this  are  the  ruins  of  an 
ancient  building  which  is  known  as  the  Temple  of 
the  Sphinx.  The  drifting  sand  had  buried  it,  but 
excavations  have  been  made  so  that  one  can  form 
some  idea  of  what  it  formerly  was.  It  is  built 
of  huge  blocks  of  granite  and  alabaster.  Some  of 
217 


GLIMPSES  OF  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT 

the  pieces  of  grauite  were  sixteen  feet  long,  ten  feet 
wide  and  a  foot  or  more  in  thickness,  and  some  of 
the  alabaster  blocks  were  nearly  as  large.  These 
blocks  were  not  all  regular  in  shape.  Some  had 
oblique  angles,  but  the  joints  were  so  accurately- 
made  that  one  could  not  put  a  thin  knife-blade  in 
the  joints.  It  is  said  that  the  granite  was  brought 
from  Assuan,  five  hundred  eighty-five  miles  away 
and  the  alabaster  was  brought  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  miles.  It  is  quite  certain  that  this  ma- 
terial was  brought  down  the  Nile  on  rafts  or  boats, 
but  we  do  not  know  the  methods  used  in  transport- 
ing these  immense  blocks  from  the  river  to  the 
structure  in  which  they  were  placed. 

I  took  views  of  the  Sphinx  and  of  the  pyramids. 
It  was  necessary  for  me  to  go  a  long  distance 
from  the  (jreat  Pyramid  before  I  could  bring  its 
image  within  the  limits  of  the  camera. 

The  donkey  boys,  camel  drivers  and  guides  here 
are  the  most  persistent  of  all  the  persons  we 
have  yet  found  in  demanding  tips.  They  are  not 
satisfied,  no  matter  how  much  one  gives  them.  The 
donkey  boys  name  their  donkeys  after  noted 
Americans,  so  that  they  may  gain  the  favor  of 
American  tourists,  and  they  talk  almost  constant- 
ly about  the  tips  they  wish  to  receive. 
218 


A    TEIP   TO    THE    PYRAMIDS 

Excavations  are  being  made  near  the  pyramids 
of  Gizeh  and  in  other  parts  of  Egypt,  and  im- 
portant relics  are  being  found.  In  the  Cairo  Mu- 
seum of  Egyptian  Antiquities  are  many  pieces  of 
ancient  sculpture.  There  are  many  mummies. 
We  were  shown  those  of  Seti  I  and  Rameses  II. 
The  case  containing  the  alleged  mummy  of  Me- 
nephtah,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression  of  Israel, 
was  shown  to  us.  The  body  was  found  some  years 
ago,  not  in  a  tomb  of  the  kings,  but  in  another, 
and  gave  evidence  of  having  been  hastily  buried. 
It  is  supposed  that  this  body  was  recovered  from 
the  Red  Sea  after  the  Israelites  had  crossed  over, 
and  was  hastily  prepared  for  burial.  Not  much 
remains  of  it.  In  this  Museum  were  many  mum- 
mies of  crocodiles,  cats  and  other  objects  held 
sacred  by  the  ancient  Egyptians. 

Egypt  stands  for  a  very  ancient  civilization,  as 
is  shown  by  the  pyramids,  obelisks,  statues, 
temples  and  tablets  that  have  been  studied  by 
generations  of  scholars.  Many  of  these  ancient 
records  have  been  deciphered,  and  bear  strong 
testimony  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  scriptures. 


219 


XXXIII 
LASTING    IMPKESSIONS 

In  concluding  my  journey  through  Palestine 
and  Egypt  I  am  frank  to  say  that  I  have  experi- 
enced no  sort  of  disappointment  in  what  I  have 
seen.  Many  tourists  through  Bible  lands  have 
expressed  themselves  as  being  much  disappointed, 
having  expected  to  see  conditions  very  different 
from  what  they  really  were. 

We  are  liable  to  form  our  ideas  of  what  we 
have  not  seen  from  the  objects  with  which  we  are 
familiar.  We  may  allow  the  Bible  accounts  of 
incidents,  customs  and  places  to  be  colored  by 
what  we  see  around  us.  Our  Western  ideas  of 
living  and  business  can  not  be  applied  to  the 
Orient.  We  expect  to  see  the  native  in  his  own 
land,  living  in  his  own  way,  and  we  should  be  dis- 
appointed if  we  should  see  Western  customs  as- 
sumed by  the  Oriental. 

At  every  stage  of  my  journey  I  was  glad  to 
note  the  correspondence  between  my  idea  of  con- 
220 


LASTING   IMPEESSIONS 

ditions  there  and  the  reality,  and  my  confidence  in 
God's  word  was  not  shaken  in  the  least  degree, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  was  made  stronger.  The 
Bible  narratives  are  to  me  more  vivid  than  before 
my  visit  to  the  lands  of  which  they  speak.  The 
more  fully  one  is  acquainted  with  the  Bible,  the 
more  satisfaction  will  he  have  in  journeying 
through  Palestine.  The  inconveniences  of  travel 
now  are  slight,  and  the  time  and  money  necessarj 
to  such  a  trip  are  profitably  expended  by  the 
earnest  and  devout  student  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  constantly  the 
distinction  between  the  permanent  and  the  tran- 
sient in  Bible  lands.  Does  the  tourist  see  the 
same  sights  that  Abraham,  David  or  John  saw? 
Yes  and  no.  He  looks  out  upon  the  hills,  the 
mountains,  the  valleys  that  each  of  these  men 
saw,  but  he  does  not  see  the  same  buildings  and 
the  same  trees  that  they  saw.  He  sees  the  site  of 
ancient  Jericho,  but  he  sees  only  the  Jericho  of 
the  present  day. 

The  great  physical  features  of  ancient  Pales- 
tine are  the  same  to-day  as  when  the  prophets 
wrote.  When  one  looks  for  the  mountains  that 
"are  round  about  Jerusalem,"  he  has  no  difficulty 
in  finding  them.    Travelers  go  "down  from  Jeru- 

221 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

salem  to  Jericho"  now  as  they  did  when  the  man 
fell  among  thieves.  The  Mount  of  Olives  stands 
across  the  valley  of  Kidron  as  it  did  when  Jesus 
was  accustomed  to  resort  to  that  sacred  place. 
Bethlehem  occupies  the  same  sightly  location  that 
it  did  when  Christ  was  born.  We  find  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  cradled  among  the  hills  that  looked  down 
upon  it  when  Jesus  calmed  its  boisterous  waves. 

The  trees  of  ancient  times  are  gone,  as  also  are 
the  buildings.  Customs,  too,  have  changed  to 
some  extent.  Yet  the  land,  blessed  by  the  Man  of 
Calvary  and  by  those  who  prophesied  of  Him  and 
by  those  who  bore  witness  of  Him,  remains. 

The  Palestine  of  Moses'  time  was  a  goodly 
land.  As  we  look  at  it  to-day,  we  wonder  how  it 
could  have  sustained  the  great  numbers  of  inhabi- 
tants that  lived  there  in  the  height  of  Israel's 
prosperity.  We  look  in  vain  for  the  numerous 
large  villages  and  cities  that  existed  in  ancient 
times.  There  are  villages  and  cities,  and  many  of 
them,  but  they  are  few  in  comparison  with  those 
of  Bible  times. 

It  would  appear  that  a  curse  is  upon  the  land 

because  of  the  sins  of  God's  ancient  people.    The 

productiveness  must  be  less  than  formerly.    There 

is  little  encouragement  by  the  existing  govern- 

222 


LASTING    IMPKESSIONS 

rneut  to  improve  agricultural  conditions,  and 
progress  will  be  slow  until  there  is  a  change  of 
administration. 

During  the  summer  season  the  heat  of  the 
noonday  sun  is  intense,  and  after  one  has  ex- 
perienced it,  he  can  well  appreciate  the  frequent 
references  in  the  Bible  to  the  advantages  of  pro- 
tection from  the  heat.  He  can  also  understand 
how  much  of  spiritual  blessing  is  typified  by  an 
abundant  supply  of  water. 

He  who  has  journeyed  among  the  hills  and  val- 
leys of  Palestine  can  understand  the  frequent 
references  to  them  in  the  scriptures.  He  can  see 
events  in  their  natural  settings.  He  does  not  try 
to  make  the  events  described  fit  the  region  of 
country  where  he  lives. 

I  heard  many  traditions.  I  had  no  inclination 
to  give  credence  to  them,  unless  there  appeared  to 
be  a  good  foundation  in  fact.  Many  were  utterly 
unbelievable,  yet  there  was  something  to  be  learned 
from  tJiem  all.  The  fact  that  these  traditions 
were  accepted  and  believed  shows  the  credulity 
and  superstition  that  are  prevalent.  It  shows  also 
that  the  human  race  is  inclined  toward  religion. 
Where  the  true  light  of  the  gospel  does  not  shine 
or  is  not  received,  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  dis- 
223 


GLIMPSES    OF    PALESTINE    AND    EGYPT 

position  to  accept  some  sort  of  religious  faith. 
This  faith  in  traditions  and  this  tendency  to  adore 
traditionally  sacred  places  give  evidence  of  a  need 
for  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

With  the  people  of  Palestine  there  is  a  ten- 
dency to  revere  places  and  objects  that  are  really 
not  sacred;  but  with  us  there  is  a  tendency  to 
neglect  and  treat  slightingly  the  most  sacred  ob- 
jects. I  would  not  speak  lightly  of  the  reverence 
that  many  in  that  land  have  for  shrines  and  his- 
toric places,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  are 
sincere  in  their  devotion.  They  are  no  better  in- 
structed. 

The  Bible  has  a  strong  hold  upon  Christian 
and  Jew  in  Palestine.  By  this  statement  I  mean 
that  the  Jew  regards  the  Old  Testament  with 
reverence  and  considers  it  as  God's  word.  The 
Christian  accepts  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New 
as  true  and  authoritative.  Scattered  all  over  the 
country  are  places  that  are,  in  the  minds  of  the 
people,  connected  with  Bible  events.  This  does 
not  prove  that  the  people  generally  know  much 
about  the  Bible,  but  they  have  a  knowledge  of 
many  of  the  important  events  therein  described. 

Palestine  with  all  its  ruggedness,  with  all  its 
present  barrenness,  with  all  the  spiritual  and  in- 
224 


LASTING   IMPKESSIONS 

tellectual  poverty  of  its  inhabitants  and  with  all 
the  oppression  of  its  administration,  is  still  the 
Holy  Land,  and  will  so  remain  to  the  end  of  time. 


225 


INDEX 


Absalom's  tomb,  84. 
Adam,  traditional  tomb   of, 

74. 
Akra,  63. 
Aksa,  mosque,  68. 
Alexandria,  38. 
Algiers,  23. 
American     College.     Cairo, 

207. 
Anti-Lebanon,  50. 
Aphek,  181. 
Apostles'  spring,  100. 
Arnon,  canyon  of.  50. 
Assuan,  Egypt,  199. 
Athens,  Acropolis,  34,  35. 

Customs,  35. 

Mars  Hill,  33.  34. 
Athlit,  187. 
Azores,  19. 
Baggage  carried,  178. 
Bedouins'  camp,  50,  180. 
Beeroth,  138. 
Beersheba,     mission     work, 

135. 
Begging.  ^\Jgiers,  25. 

Bethany,  112. 

Bethlehem,  97. 

Jerusalem,  79. 
Bethany,  visit  to.  110-112. 
Bethel,  138. 
Bethesda,  pool  of.  115. 
Bethlehem,  92-97. 
Bethsaida,  site  of.  172. 
Beth-shean,  181. 
Bezetha,  63. 
Boaz.  field  of,  96. 


Cairo,  202. 

Cairo,    university    of,    202- 

206. 
Calvary,  61,  75,  86. 
Cana,  163. 

Capernaum,  169,  171. 
Carmel,  Mount,  49,  184-187. 
Castle  of  the  Pilgrims,  188. 
Charybdis,  28. 
Cherith,  101. 
Chinnereth,  168. 
Coptic  Christians,  211. 
Corinth,  view  of,  31. 
Crete,  view  of,  38. 
Dead  Sea.  107,  108. 
Dome  of  the  Rock,  66. 
Donkey  I'ide,  82. 
Dothan,  151. 
Dress,  Greece,  31. 

Alexandria,  39. 
Dry    season,    Palestine,   45, 

54. 
Ebal,  Mount,  139. 
Egypt,  extent,  197. 

Irrigation,  199. 

Productive,  199. 
El-Fuleh,  181. 
El-Bireh,  138. 
Elijah,  monastery  ot,  185. 

Resting-place  of,  93. 
El-Lubban,  139. 
Emmaus,  138. 
Endor,  154. 
Engannira,  152. 
Esdraelon,  153,  154,  181. 
Etna,  Mount,  29, 


227 


INDEX 


Evil  Counsel,  hiU  of,  84. 
Fezes,  worn  by  men,  67. 
Flooded  berth,  18. 
Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  114. 
Funeral,  Jewish,  85. 
Galilee,  Sea  of,  165-169. 
Garden  Tomb,  75. 
Gath-Hepher,  163. 
Gennesaret,  168. 
Gerizim,  Mount,  139. 
German    Lutheran    Church, 

61. 
Gethsemane,  88. 
Gibraltar,  21,  22. 
Gihon,  pool  of,  114. 
Gilboa,  Mount,  154, 160, 181. 
Gilgal,  104. 

Gizeh,  pyramids  of,  214. 
Gleaning,  55. 
Golden  Gate,  123. 
Gordon's  Calvary,  75,  86. 
Greeks,  patriotic,  32. 
Haifa,  Caiffa,  183. 
Harvesting,  30,  54. 
Hebron,    mission    work    at, 

134. 
Hejaz  railway,  178,  179. 
Heliopolis,  obelisk,  212,  213. 
Hermon,  Mount,  50,  170. 
Hezekiah's  pool,  114,  115. 
Hinnom,   62. 
Holy  Fire,  122. 
Holy  Sepulcher,  70,  122. 
Holy  Thursday,  132. 
Horns  of  Hattin,  164,  169. 
Hot  springs,  173,  174. 
Jabbok,  50. 
Jacob's  Well,  139. 
JafiFa,   41-44. 
Jaffa  Gate,  56,  S3. 
Jebus,  63. 

Jehoshaphat,   valley  of,   84. 
Jenin,  152. 
Jericho,  98-103. 
Jerusalem,  57-62. 


Jews'  Wailing  Place,  76-80, 

132. 
Jezreel,  154. 
Jordan,  visit  to,  105-107. 
Jordan  Valley,  49-51. 
Joseph's  Tomb,  140. 
Kidron  Valley,  59. 
Kishon  River,  182. 
Lazarus,  tomb  of.  111. 
Lebanon,  47. 
Lebonah,  139. 
Little  Hermon,  160. 
Longinus,  chapel  of,  121. 
Lord's    Prayer,    church    of, 

122. 
Man  overboard,  26. 
Mars  Hill,  33,  34. 
Mary's  fountain,   158. 
Medical  examination,  193. 
Messina,  28. 

Missionary  Alliance,  134. 
Mizpeh,   138. 
Moab,  47,  91. 
Mohammedans  at  prayer,  40. 

Heads  covered,  67. 

Women's  veils,  68. 
Moriah,  63. 

Mount  of  Olives,  87-91. 
Nablus,  141,  142. 
Nain,  154. 
Naples,  27. 

Nativity,  church  of,  95. 
Nazareth,  155-161. 
Nebo,  Mount,  105. 
Nilometer,  198. 
Omar,  mosque,  66. 
Ophthalmic  hospital,  133. 
Palestine,  physical  features, 
48-50. 

Size,  47. 
Parnassus,  30. 
Patras,  29. 
Patriarch's  pool,  114. 
Perea,   180. 
Piraeus,  37. 


228 


INDEX 


Pisgah,   105. 

Port  Said,  40,  19G. 

Prayer,  Mohammedan  at,  40. 

Pyramids  of  Egypt.  214-218 

Puteoli,  27. 

Rachel's  Tomb,  94. 

Railways,  Greece,  o(». 

Palestine,  52. 
Ramah,  138. 
Ramallah,  138. 
Sabbath-keeping   in  .Jernsa- 

lem,  129. 
Safed,  164. 
Salamis,  gulf  of,  33. 
Samaria,  hill  of,  147-150. 
Samaritan  Inn,  101. 
Samaritans,  142-145. 
Samson,  home  of,  56. 
Scopus,  87,  91. 
Scylla,  28. 
Semakh,  178. 
Sharon,  53. 
Shechem,  140-145. 
Shepherd  scene,  175. 
Shops    in    Jerusalem.    124, 

128. 
Shunem,  154. 
Sicily,  28. 

Siloam,  pool  of,  114. 
Slings  100. 


Solomon's  pools,  116. 

Quarries,  85. 

Stables,  69. 
Sphinx,  217. 

Steamship,     Kaiser     Franz 
Josef  I,  15,  16. 

Osmanieh,  37. 

Prince  Abbas,  39. 

Tewfikieh,  190. 
Stephen's,  St.,  Gate,  87. 
Suez  Canal,  195,  200. 
Tabor,  Mount,  154. 
Temple  Area,  64,  65. 
Temptation,   hill  of,   104. 
Thrashing-floors,  30,   .55. 
Tiberias,  165,  175. 
Titus,  87. 

Trotter,  Miss,  Algiers  mis- 
sion, 23. 
Turban,  significance  of,  131. 
Tyropeon  Valley,  60. 
Veils,  women's,  68. 
Veronica,  St.,  house  of,  122. 
Via  Dolorosa,  132. 
Wailing    Place,    Jews",    76, 

132. 
Yarmuk  River,  180. 
Zion,  63. 
Zwemer,  quoted,  206,  207. 


229 


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